Alyce in Mutant Land
by Saiyu
Summary: Alyce Red has been at the Xavier Mansion for a few months, still getting settled in. Everything is fine, no dramatic past, no abandonment by her family members. So what makes her so special? Nothing at all... PyroxOC,PietroxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Character ; Alyce Red

Age ; 18½

Hair Colour ; Jet Black

Eye Colour ; Icy Blue

Abilities (noted by Jean Grey) – 'Though we are still not fully sure about the powers Alyce has, we do know that is can be extremely dangerous. Alyce has the ability to summon, what seems to be, a liquid type of metal (could be Adamantium or something stronger) which can form into a hardened state anywhere on her body as a type of armour. She can also make anything with it, whether it be swords, shields anything. Even guns. Whether it is in the liquid or hardened state, the metal is able to go threw anything, and she can even use it to go threw things. Her power has derived from her father, James Red, who had very similar powers, only his seemed to be activated when in total darkness.'

Prof. Jean Grey 11/12/07. Arch.01192

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Chapter 1 : Still here.

Alyce sat in the phone booth. Loud teens passing by, laughing, and joking around, totally oblivious to the fact that other students were trying to talk to their family members. Alyce looked out of the corner of her eye, propping her feet up in the small booth, listening to the phone ring. She should be used to this by now. The Xavier Mansion was full of all ages, walking around everywhere. The only time it really got quiet was when it was late at night, which Alyce approved of.

She idly tapped her fingers on her knees, twisting a random strand of her jeans that stuck out. The phone kept ringing and ringing. And her shoulder began to fall asleep. She quickly switched the sides of the phone and rested it on her other shoulder, bringing up her hand to massage the other.

"Hello?" Suddenly came a masculine voice, sounding very out of breath.

Alyce sat up, a big grin on her face. "Dad, it's me."

"Who?"

"Your daughter?" She sighed, still smiling.

"Wait.....this isn't my ex looking for my child support money I owe?"

"DAD!" Alyce raised her voice, laughing.

There was a big chuckle on the other end. "I'm just joking, kid. How ya' doing? I was cooking dinner and--"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Alyce interrupted. "Dad...cooking..dinner? The miracle?"

"Oh shut up. No miracle. Your mom caught a cold, I'm just making some soup. How's school?"

Alyce covered the phone with her hand, a group of laughing teens passing by. She groaned and put the phone back to her ear. "Loud as usual. They really need to put the phone booths somewhere else. So when are you coming to visit? The Professor wants to change my schedule and put me in with the training students."

"Hell, that's awesome, Alyce! You can learn how to do more with your power."

"_Dad...._" Alyce whispered harshly. "I know what I can do with my power. You taught me everything to it, remember?"

"Well, yea but. Gahhh." Her dad sighed, the sounds of pots and pans banging together. "Well, I got to go give your mom her soup, she's already hollerin'. Look, I'll call tomorrow, and stop on by. Oh! Before I forget to tell you, that new CD you like came out yesterday."

"Yeaaa! I know. Are ya' gonna get it for me?" Alyce chuckled, already knowing what her Dad's response would be. Back in his 'young days' as he liked to call it, he was pretty much the biggest touble maker ever. Stealing, car jacking, everything. All because he had mutant powers and used them to 'good use'.

"Helllll nooooooo." Her Dad laughed. "Go steal it. Not like you can't."

Alyce laughed. "Alright Dad, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright Sweety...Buh bye."

"Bye Dad." She murmured, sadness coating her voice. She missed her Mom and Dad. Alyce slowly put the phone back on the receiver and took her time getting up from the booth.

The last time her Dad had stopped to visit, it turned out to be nothing but bad. Apparently he heard Scott Summers mumble something under his breath and it wasn't good. Her dad then got Mr. Summers up against a wall, with a clawed hand at his throat. Boy, what a riot it had been. No one really knew what happened, just a lot of questions on how Scott had a big bruise on his neck and four scratch marks. Everyone just liked to think it was Logan.

Alyce walked through the Mansion's halls, passing the empty classrooms. It was already 9pm and most of the students were either in the living room, or getting ready to go to bed. They weren't really allowed to go out on their own into the City unless one of the teachers went. Most either spent time in the big yards outside, or snuck out. Alyce yawned, walking up the big stairs in the foyer to the dorms. She made a left and opened the door that lead to the hallway of the girl dorms.

All around were girls, chatting. Loud loud loud. Alyce never really liked hanging out with girls her own age. She usually was found with a group of boys, playing football or by herself in the library. Some girls in the dorm had tried to approach her, and be friends, but by the end of the week they backed off.

Why? Alyce wasn't even sure. She was friendly,nice and polite. A bit shy, but who cared about that nowadays? From what she had heard it was because of rumors about her powers, and how it could get out of whack at anytime. Alyce opened a pair of double doors and walked into the bedrooms. She walked past the large array of bunk beds, some girls tossing and turning, a few having small pillow fights, one was writing in a journal. Nothing new at all. She had been here for months and all of this was like a daily routine.

Alyce walked all the way to the back of the large room, and found her bottom bunk that was in the corner right next to a big window. Front row view of the gardens, which she loved to look at.

She sat on her bed with a huff, bending over and untying her sneakers. She had just finished untying her left shoe when she looked up, shocked to see a girl standing in front of her.

The girl smiled and waved awkwardly, sitting across from her on an empty bunk bed. Alyce raised an eyebrow and looked around. Was this some kind of prank? It wouldn't be the first or last time some girl had came to tease her. The bunk on top and to the side of her were always empty. When someone had came to take it, the others would warn, whoever it was, about Alyce's powers.

Still staring at the girl with a look of disbelief, the girl coughed snapping Alyce's attention back.

"Ummm. Hi?" Alyce said, more of a question than an actual greeting. She didn't want to admit to it, but she was actually afraid. She didn't like to be teased or bothered by any of the girls that were here.

"Hi." The girl smiled, her voice some what thick with an accent Alyce couldn't place. "Ahm...My name is Rogue."

Alyce relaxed her face and looked at Rogue. Southern Accent. Southern Girl. White Streak in hair. One of the kids on the X-Men Team. "Yea?" Alyce asked.

Rogue casted her gaze to the side, wearily bringing up her eyes to look directly at Alyce.

"I didn't mean to be rude...I just....I have my guard up in here. They're always ready to pounce.." Alyce pointed her nose to a group of girls that were busy looking at what was happening.

"Oh, well..." Rogue looked to where Alyce was pointing, waving over to an Asian girl who was taking off big hoop earrings. "I know some of them. That's Jubilee."

_Great. _Alyce thought. This had to be some type of prank. She was sure of it. Did they take out all of her clothes from her drawers and put them all in the lake again? Alyce quickly checked her drawers. Everything was in tact and the group of girls began to giggle. Alyce sighed and look back at Rogue, who seemed very much confused.

"So what brings you here to talk?" Alyce asked, yawning and wiping at her watery eyes. Rogue smiled again and chuckled. "I almost forgot. Well, Professor Xavier has been saying that you are going to be joining our classes soon. I just wanted to introduce myself. I've seen you around here before, but I didn't know Alyce was your name."

Alyce dropped her head in her hands and sighed. "I didn't even know I was going to be put in those classes until this morning. I really don't want to be there."

"Why not? It's really fun. We get more leisure time when it comes with homework and all. And we even get to train in the Training Room with Logan and-"

"Not. Really. Interested." Alyce interrupted. "Besides I like my old class. I don't mean to sound rude or anything. Doesn't Mr. Summers teach the Training Room?"

"Yea, on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I like not being an X-Man. My Dad wouldn't like it much either, especially with Scott Summers." Alyce finally finished taking off her shoes and patted her bed to find her shorts and tank top she had thrown under the blankets in the morning. Rogue looked on, seemingly disappointed. She got up and looked at Alyce. "Oh. Well...if you ever change your mind..."

Alyce got up and hung her shorts over her shoulder, nodding over to Rogue and giving her fake smile. She watched as Rogue walked down the dorm, stopping at her bunk and preparing her things for bed.

_Why do they want me on that stupid team anyways? _Alyce pondered, heading off to the bathrooms to shower before she went to sleep. _It's not like they need another one that big ass team anyway._

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A/N; Ok so this is the first chapter! I think it might be rough around the edges, but do tell me where it needs to be fixed up!( I wrote this ages ago) Shall post Chp2, if this story is deemed likable by a few :)

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: Alyce's father, James, is very liable to curse and at times be crude. If you can look aside his usage of cursing (at rare times) that would be wonderful! ~ From, Lilia.

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Chapter 2 : Introducing the Master.

A small black convertible pulled into the Mansion's garage. The bright lights hitting all the fancy colored cars and bikes, obviously belonging to Scott Summers. James gritted his teeth. God he hated that man. Something about him just seemed wrong. Maybe it was just his nerves acting up, like his wife had said plenty of times. But James knew as well as anyone else, he wasn't the only one to not take a fancy with Scott.

"Man, you would think they would tell the kids to move out of the way if they knew they had a visitor coming." James Red sighed tapping his hands on the wheel of the car, trying hard not to just slam his hand down on the car horn.

"Honey, calm down." He looked over to his wife, Lilia, who was busy trying to finish wrapping the CD his daughter had wanted. He brought his attention back in front of him, half asleep teenagers scrambling for their bags and trying to move out of the car's path. James rolled down the window and waved off to Logan, who was in the distance.

"Oh, Logan is back." Lilia smiled. "He makes some really good coffee." She put the last piece of tape on the wrapping paper, and stuck the CD in her purse, pushing back her brown hair into a ponytail. She took off her seat belt as soon as her husband parked the car and got out, quickly walking toward Logan.

"Logan!" Lilia smiled, wrapping her hands around the big muscular Wolverine. "It's been ages! How was the trip?"

Logan chuckled, hugging Lilia tightly. "Stupid." He answered, not really wanting to worry her. "Didn't really find anything."

Lilia scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I told you, you could come find us if you needed help. We're not mutants for nothing."

James walked up behind his wife, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Well then, if you loved the man so much for his coffee, make a point next time to marry him, eh?" Lilia hushed James up, softly hitting him on his chest. She smiled as she watched as the two gave each other a manly hug.

"What's up man. What's the miracle you're down here? Doesn't that blind fucker teach Mechanics here?"

"Honey!" Lilia gasped. "There are students here you know. You can't just be mouthing off their teacher." James winced, his wife hitting him hard on the arm. He scratched the back of his head and waved off to the students, who were busy laughing.

He began to walk towards the elevator, following Logan who was already there waiting. Logan looked over his shoulder. "Yea, well, I look after them on Wednesday."

"Damn, bro. I wish you luck."

The reassuring 'ding' sounded off from the elevator. The doors opened, another group of teens coming down, and Scott Summers in the back ushering them out. He stopped at first, looking both at Logan and James and nodded his head moving on by. The two stepped into the elevator, smirking, already talking about the approaching football game. James looked over to his wife, who had stopped to chat with Scott. _Leave it to her to be a social butterfly._ James thought.

Lilia finally stepped into the elevator, closing the doors and pressing the ground level button. "I know I'm a social butterfly." She chuckled, not looking back to her husband or Logan. "You know you love it."

The elevator stopped, the doors opening, Lilia walking out first and making a right towards Xavier's office.

Logan chuckled. "Read your mind again?"

James pinched the bridge of his nose. "Man, you won't believe the hell I got once for looking at another woman. I can't help it. The thoughts just come to me!" He threw his hands up in the air, receiving a funny look from Logan as he walked out of the elevator.

"So I'm guessing you heard the Obi-wan of the Mansion wants your little brat for the team."

"Yea. She isn't really thrilled about it. I have no clue why. I told her it would be good. I'll get her to agree with it though." James watched as a student rushed up to Logan. The girl huffed saying some fight had broken down in the garage. James placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, chuckling. "Oh boy, you better _pray_ none of the cars are wrecked."

"Yours too, huh?" Logan laughed. He walked off and gave James a salute.

"Honey? Make it quick." Lilia's voice echoed through the empty halls, the bright morning sun shining down on her, making her look like an Angel. He finally caught up to his wife, who stopped him and placed too hands on his chest.

"Re-cap, sweety." She whispered to him, fixing the collar on his leather jacket. "Be Polite, Be nice--"

"Control, control....yes, I know, hun." He quickly placed a kiss on Lilia's lips and opened the big double doors to Xavier's Office. They walked in, Xavier smiling and Alyce looking back. Her usual porcelain doll face and bright blue eyes looking back at her father with a stern look.

"Nice to see you again." Xavier spoke. "Come and take a seat, I was just chatting with your daughter."

Alyce kept moving in her seat, getting stern looks from her mother, who sat to her right. But she couldn't help it. _My butt is asleep._ Alyce thought, knowing full well that her mother could read her mind. She looked over to her left, her Dad talking with Professor Xavier. Her butt was still asleep, getting up would surely be quiet an adventure.

"Alyce has a great ability. We want her on the team, so she can learn to work together with others and be able to control her powers so they can all work together. Her grades are up, and the few times she has been in the Danger Room, she has aced all of the scenarios."

"Sign her on up then." James finally answered, sounding as if he was tired of all the fuss. He looked over to his daughter, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked at him with a sour look and stuck out her tongue. "C'mon. I wish I had something like this when I was young. And if you don't like it, you can always go back to the norm...." James looked over to the Professor with a glare in his eye. "_Right_? Professor?"

Professor Xavier smiled and folder his hands on his desk. "Yes, she can. If she doesn't want to be apart of the team, after two weeks she can opt to go back to her regular daily schedule."

Alyce nodded, casting her gaze on the floor.

"We have already made a new schedule for you, and someone to pair you up with to catch up on lost lessons." The Professor picked up a thick piece of paper, and handed it too Alyce, who took it and looked over it. Alyce looked at the paper and coughed. "By pair up, you don't mean like, a partner to work with in the training room too, right?"

"Ororo will be helping you catch up on lessons, nothing complicated. It's really easy work. When you come to the Danger Room this afternoon, you will work as one big team. In some cases we assign partners, but it's never permanent."

"That sounds great." Lilia smiled, patting Alyce's back and getting up from her seat. "If anything is to happen, don't hesitate to call." She stuck out her hand to the Professor, who shook it.

"Well, I guess we're leaving." James chimed in. He shook the Professors hand. "I guess she has to be getting to her new classes, huh?"

The Professor nodded, wheeling out from behind the desk and heading toward the door. "I'm going to take her there, I'll be waiting outside." With that, he wheeled off out of the room, the doors closing behind him, leaving the family of three in silence. Alyce got up immediately, patting her butt and yawning. She stood silent, as she picked up her schedule that had fallen on the floor.

"It's gunna be good for you. Don't be a punk." James patted his daughter on the back who looked at her schedule. "I'm not being a punk." She murmured.

Sensing the mood was dull, Lilia smiled, pulling out the CD she had wrapped for her daughter. "Here!"She gleamed, holding it out. Alyce looked up and smiled, hugging her Mom. "Dad said he wasn't going to get it."

Lilia coughed. "I convinced him." She sniffled, winking at her husband who rolled his eyes. "My cold is acting up again. I need to go home and rest." Lilia moved her head to the right, sneezing in the air.

"Bless you." Alyce said moving out of her mothers embrace. "So you guys are leaving?"

"Yup." James answered, walking over to his wife, and pulling her close to his chest. "Your mother needs some tender loving to make her feel better. Isn't that right, honey?"

Alyce looked on, watching as her dad rubbed noses together with her mother and the two began to kiss.

"Dudes, I know you guys are young and all. But....I'm still 18 and my mind is still fragile."

James placed a kiss on his wife's forehead and looked at Alyce. "Oh, shut the fuck up."

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A/N: Thanks for still reading on! R&R would be apprciated!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Gambit shall be having his own little glossary of words whenever he decides to speak a new french phrase. They will be at the end of every chapter. Also, Gambit won't be the charming older guy he was in Wolverine: Origins. I've made him a teenager, but keep in mind he is a bit older than everyone there. Other than that, he's still the Ragin' Cajun'~!

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Chapter 3 : Playing Dead

Alyce wouldn't like to admit that she was nervous. But she was.

She had stopped in front of the classroom door, glancing over to the glass wall, looking at the blurred outlines of the students that were inside. Alyce bit her lip, hesitating to bring up her hand to open the door of the classroom. Her body was cold, her nose was tingly, and her mouth was dry. The surrounding atmosphere began to grow colder and colder by the minute. Someone would notice sooner or later, when it felt like it was -50 Degrees. She never knew why it happened when she was nervous, neither did her Dad, who experienced the same issue.

Alyce turned to her right, walking quickly to the end of the hall. She couldn't understand exactly why she was so nervous. Maybe it was the fact that she was going to be surrounded by people she didn't know. They all knew each other, they would talk about her. Alyce took in a deep breath and sat down on the steps of the nearest stair case. The halls stood quiet. The only thing heard was the sound of the chirping birds outside. She took in a deep breath and slowly got up. Nervously, she ran her hands threw her hair and let out a deep sigh. "I can't do this." She mumbled, shaking her head, sitting back down on the stair case.

What was the big deal deal about being an X-Man anyway?

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Remy Lebeau wasn't saying that he didn't love his girlfriend. He was only saying that it was better when she didn't have her attitude. He sighed, and looked up at Jubilee, who sat in front of him with a scowl on her face.

"_Mon amour_....." Remy muttered, laying his head on his desk. He knew well enough that later in the day, she would come back to him and the two would fall back in love. And they would kiss, and....that's pretty much all they would do, seeing as how either Jean or the Professor knew when Remy was somewhere he wasn't supposed too be. He yawned, taking his finger and poking Jubilee on the shoulder.

She shrugged him off, didn't even look back, and continued doing her work. He blinked his red on black eyes, and tilted his head, looking at Rogue. His brown hair fell into his face as he looked on at Rogue and Bobby, the two giggling. He wasn't going to lie to himself, there had been many a time he would've greatly preferred Rogue over Jubilee. He had done his flirting (nothing new for the Rajin' Cajun'.) But alas, Rogue was taken and so was he. He bit his lip and placed his forehead on top of his desk with a groan. Life was trouble.

"Is there a problem with the work, Mr. Lebeau?"

Without looking up, Remy groaned again, receiving little chuckles from around the class room. This always happened. He was never trying to be funny but everyone took it as he was, which lead into him getting detention or whatever the punishment was. Was it the accent? Or maybe it was because he was always referring to himself in the third person? Maybe it was both.

He closed his eyes shut as he heard the heels of Ms. Ororo Monroe walking toward him. "Is everything ok?" She asked. The class grew stone silent. Remy stood quiet, hoping that maybe she would just walk away and get back on with the science lesson. But he never had such luck to begin with, and he groaned once more upon hearing Ms. Monroe tap on his desk. "Everyone is waiting on you, you know. There is no reason to be tired or sleepy."

"On the contrary...."Remy spoke, lifting his head and sticking out his pointer finger. "Remy has every reason to be tired _and_ sleepy."

"And why is that?" Ororo asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrow.

Remy pondered for a second, on whether he should answer. He slumped on his chair and looked up at Ororo. "Does Ms. Monroe _really_ want to know?"

"Yes."

"In all his life, Remy has never been so bored by science. In fact, Remy has come to the fact that, it isn't science that is boring...." He leaned over and grabbed his bag. "..it is the way teaches it!"

The class roared in laughter. He smiled at first, not really sure what was funny, but he knew he was going to get kicked out. He looked at Ms. Monroe with an apologetic look on his face. "Miss...Remy mean no harm...."

", why don't you take a trip down to see the Professor? Maybe he can change your opinion on the way I teach."

Remy got up slowly, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He watched as walked back up to the front of the classroom, picking up her text book and waiting for Remy to leave. She pointed to the door with a smile.

"Remy thought this was America?"

"It is Remy, do you need to be touched up on Global History?"

"_Non_..."

"Well then?"

"Remy shouldn't be casted out for his point of view on things."

Ororo pinched the bridge of her nose and pulled Remy by the strap of his book bag. "Out." She growled, pulling on him.

"What...Why are you pulling on Remy? Remy is being sent to detention for his beliefs on Science?!"

His words began to fade as Ororo finally pushed him out the class and closed the door. The class chuckled, Remy being the clown of the class and not even knowing it.

Remy stood outside of the door. "_Pourquoi je?" _He fixed his book bag strap and yawned again. Maybe he could finally go catch some Z's in the living room. He fixed his pants and smoothed out his shirt and began to walk down the quiet hall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of old playing cards, removing the rubber band and slipping it on his wrist. He began to shuffle the when he began to feel cold. Very cold. He stopped in his tracks and glanced over to the window. It was closed. Besides, it was a lovely 70 degree day in Fall, why would it be freakishly cold? Remy really didn't think anything of it, most likely the AC went commando. He shrugged his shoulder and looked to his side.

"_Merde d'Oh !" _He huffed, taking a step back, his cards falling out his hand. He grabbed at his heart and looked wide eyed toward the staircase. "You scared Remy, _Mon Ami._"

The girl's face grew pale and she got up and apologized. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled softly, and began to pick up the playing cards that had fallen on the floor. Remy tapped his heart with his hand and took in a deep breath, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Remy will pick them up." Remy knelt down and began to pick up the cards. This girl wasn't new here, he had seen her around her before. Always quiet, kept to herself, never really talked. So what was she doing out in the halls?

"Did you get in trouble like Remy did?"

The girl picked up the last card and handed it to Remy. She got up and looked at him with a confused face. "Whose Remy?" She asked, moving back to her seat on the stair case.

Remy smiled and pointed to himself. "You can't live in this mansion and not know who Remy is." He took off his bag and sat down next to the girl on the stair case. "Who are you?"

The girl looked over to him. "My name is Alyce. And no, I didn't get in trouble. I'm supposed to be in that class right over there. But....I'm not ready to go in." Alyce gave a small smile and buried her hands in the sleeves of her hoodie.

Remy yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Remy just came from that classroom. Remy got kicked out. Ms. Monroe thought Remy was being mean to her. Oh well..." He shrugged and got up from the staircase. "Remy is going to the living room to sleep. Are you going to stay here all day, _mon ami?" _

Alyce shook her head. "I was planning on going in eventually." She looked down the corridor and brought her gaze back to Remy, who was yawning again. "You...you're an X-Man?"

"In the making....what? Doesn't Remy look like an X-Man?" Remy gave Alyce a big toothy grin and folded his arms over his chest, sticking his nose up on the air. "What does Alyce think?"

Alyce chuckled and got up. "I think you look ridiculous." She added, beginning to walk over to the classroom.

"Hey! Remy doesn't appreciate that. Besides why are you going to go to class? The bell rings in about--"

The bell sounded off into the hallways. Immediately classroom doors opening up and kids running out. Alyce looked back at Remy, who stood in the middle of the hall waving and smiling. She began to wave back, when she realized that she had lost Remy in the sea of students. She put her hand down and looked back to where her class room was. She might as well go and explain why she wasn't there. She wouldn't mind going to classes now, if she knew that Remy was going to be there. At least she had a friend.

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_Mon Amour_- My Love

_Mon Ami_- My Friend

_Non_- No

_Pourquoi je – _Why me?

_Merde d'Oh – _(roughly translated) Holy Sh!t.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Just do this

Alyce maneuvered her way threw the sea of students and finally found the classroom. She looked in, the door wide open and the classroom empty, except for who was fixing a pile of papers on her desk. Alyce tapped her knuckle on the door and walked in.

"Ah, Alyce. You missed class. What happened?"

Alyce casted her gaze to the floor as she walked next to 's desk. She stopped looked up at the board and sighed. "I just wasn't ready..."

Ororo looked confused then. What wasn't to be ready for? Alyce had been in her other Science class, so why was this one any different? "What do you mean?"

Alyce took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know I've been in your other class with no problem, but ever since the Professor wanted me to be with the X-Men recruits, I've just been really nervous about starting new classes with them." Alyce bit her lip in frustration, hoping that what came out of her mouth was suitable enough for Ms. Monroe to let her pass.

Ororo smiled sweetly and collected her papers and put them in a big manila folder. "I understand. Just to switch to a new class in the middle of the semester. It's Ok. Maybe if you try to get here earlier you can beat the rush and get a seat where you feel comfortable in."

Alyce nodded her head and thanked God also worked as a counselor to the student body as well. She reached into her back pocket and fished out her folded schedule. "I have training sessions now. The problem is, I never been to the lower levels before." got up from her chair, tucking in various folders and loose pieces of paper inside her desk. "I'm going to be in the Danger Room along with Jean and Scott. So you can come with me."

"Sounds cool." Alyce murmured, really not as excited to be going into a training session in her first day of her new classes. She tagged along behind and got into a elevator that was right next to the class room.

"Will everyone else be there?"

"Not now. All the students are on a lunch break, so you can have time to change..." Ororo stopped in mid sentence and quietly swore. She bit her finger nail and looked over at Alyce. "You know, I think with all the excitement of adding you to our training team, we've forgotten to take your measurement for a uniform."

Oh great. They had to wear a uniform too? Whatever happened to just sweats and a tee shirt? If it was that bad they could just all wear matching colours. But no. Alyce stood quiet and followed out of the elevator.

"Scary..."Alyce stated as she looked at the silver walls. Everything was metallic, and every so often a big door marked with an X was visible. Alyce was tempted to ask what they were for, but she decided against it. They stopped in front of one of the doors, and Storm walked in front of it. She stood there for a few seconds, leaving Alyce to wonder what was going on. Finally, the door opened and they entered a large room. All around in a circle, stood glass cases. Alyce walked up to one and noticed that they were the uniforms Ororo had spoken of.

"Come here Alyce...." Ororo mumbled, fumbling with a yellow measuring tape. Alyce looked at her and chuckled. "You don't need to do that..."

Ororo scrunched up her nose and looked up at Alyce. A black substance began to form over her body, moving around as if a thousand little black leeches had crawled on her. Alyce looked over to one of the cases and looked back down at her body. Before Ororo could register what was going on, Alyce had a full suit, complete with patches and a few hints of design. Alyce looked up and smiled, moving her arms around and stretching her back.

"These things sure are tight."

Ororo looked on as Alyce stretched, the squeaking and smell of fresh leather hitting her nose. She suddenly felt very stupid. The Professor had pointed out that Alyce wouldn't need to take measurements, seeing as how her power let her create anything she wanted. "Well, that's awesome!" Ororo beamed, tucking the measuring tape into her back pocket. "I'm going to change into my uniform. Why don't you just head outside the door, and make a left. Just walk to the end of the hall, there is only one door. Just wait by it."

Alyce nodded and watched as walked away. She began to fix her gloves when something engraved on the top of glass cases caught her eye. She walked up to one and squinted her eyes to see what exactly was written.

"Ice Man." Alyce rolled her eyes and walked to the next one, lifting her knees higher than usual to stretch out the leather. "Rogue." A small giggle began to form in Alyce's throat, but she held it back. She at least wanted to read all of them before she ended up dying of laughter. "Gambit, Jubilee, Colossus....sounds macho....Kitty, Pyro." Ok, so the names weren't that bad. But they sure were funny. So did that mean she would get to pick a nick name too?

"Oh boy...." Alyce snorted in laughter, fixing the zipper on her left glove and walking out the door to where Ororo had told her to meet.

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A/N: Short Chapter I know. lol. Still, it's a chapter. What do you guys think?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : You're all sitting here like ducks.

Kitty Pride joined the X-Men a bit late, but in the time she was with them she knew them like pages in a book. She had decided that Remy and Jubilee where a couple that would always bicker. Whether it was just for fun....or what, no one really knew. It always started the same, with Jubilation's overreacting and Remy's caring heart always trying to win her back. They always did.

Kitty finished pulling her hand threw her gloves when she eyed Rogue doing just the same. Kitty had learned to bite her tongue, knowing that Rogue and Bobby where an item. It bothered her at first, but she just learned to grin and bear it. Besides, Piotr was pretty good looking himself. Surely a massive giant like him and a teeny tiny pea pod like her could fit....

"Ugh, Being an X-Man is cool, but, these training missions are soooo stupid!"

Kitty smiled and turned around to look at Jubilee, who busily tried to fix her hair. She huffed as she took off her big hoop earrings and threw them into her locker. She looked over to Kitty, who just shrugged and smiled. It was true, the training missions did get rather lame. They would be surrounded by flying debris and fire and Scott would want them to sit and talk out their strategy plan.

Kitty yawned and walked out of the locker room, the metallic doors opening with a hum. She brushed back the hair from her face and made a left, nearly bumping into John.

"You're excused Pride..." He mumbled, walking past her flicking his lighter. With every other step he would stop and stretch his legs out. This gaining a laugh from Kitty. "Pants too tight?" She mumbled back at him as she walked by. He growled and said nothing, continuing to do his walking exercises.

Most people would say that John would be the most misunderstood on the team. But Kitty begged to differ. John was easy to understand. He was a rebel and just downright stubborn. He did what he want, when he wanted. If anything, poor Remy was the most misunderstood.

The Shadow Cat stood in front of the doors to the training room, leaning her back against the door with a huff. Soon, everyone that was on the team showed up and waited like usual until one of the teachers came down and opened the door.

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Jean turned the corner, tying back her hair with a red band. Another training session, which always seemed to lead in the kids complaining on how stupid the missions were. But there were dangers out there, dangers like Magneto. And they all needed to be prepared if something happened. Jean signed, they did have to learn how to control their powers anyway. It was for their own good. Jean made another left and walked down another long corridor. There at the end, Jean spotted the X-Men team.

The kids all chatted with each other, never taking the sessions that seriously. Bobby was always team leader, and John would always do something out of line. Remy would spend half the time trying to save Jubilee and not the surrounding holograms around him. Kitty would often feel useless, saying; "What's so helpful about walking threw a wall?"

Jean took in a deep breath. Each had to learn that their powers were given to them for something. The kids stopped chatting and looked up as Jean approached. She smiled at them. "Everyone ready?"

They all gave off a small mumble and a head nod. Jean walked up to the door and stood in front, waiting for the eye scanner to finish it's job. The doors opened and Jean turned around, counting everyone as she usually did. "This session will be different....I know that's what you guys want, instead of those usual hostage rescues we do."

That caught everyone's attention. Their heads snapped up and looked at Jean.

"Well? What are we doing?" Jubilee asked intently, chewing her gum.

"You'll see. We're waiting for Storm, Scott, and Alyce."

"Alyce?" Remy chirped, walking up to Jean. "_Étrange, _Remy thinks he knows what Alyce you speak of..."

Everyone looked at Remy with stupid looks slashed across their faces. Of course Remy knew a girl in the mansion, he knew practically ALL of them. Remy looked around and scowled. "Remy knows he knows all _la petite's, _but Remy has never met Alyce until today!" He looked back at Jean with a raised eyebrow.

Jean chuckled. "Maybe it was her, she's going to be joining the team. So that means, she will be in all of your classes."

By now everyone was just completely lost. Lost and Confused.

"She must be something else if she gets a spot on the team and we've never even heard of her..." Bobby added, gaining head nods from everyone. "What are her powers?" Leave it to Bobby to be the assertive team leader.

"You'll get to see kid...." Came the voice of Logan. He eyed Bobby with a stern glare, and the Ice-Man averted his gaze to the floor.

"Where's Scott and Storm?" Jean asked, looking behind Logan and down the long corridor, expecting to see them coming down.

Logan yawned and rubbed his chin. "Beats me, talking with the Professor? I know they went off somewhere. Do I look like a babysitter?" He asked, a sly look on his face. He waited for Jean to respond, but she gave him a tired look and promptly ignored him. She turned around and walked into the training room, the students following her.

"_Do you always have to be a smart-ass?"_ Her voice asked, echoing in Logan's brain. He didn't answer her, but instead let out a chuckle as he walked into the training room.

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_Étrange- _Strange.

A/N: Coming up next~ The Danger Room Session. I'm pretty nervous about posting it, I tend to have trouble explaining action scenes in written form. Even though I can picture them pretty vividly. Thanks for reading this Chapter~ it means a lot for people to read.

Much Obliged~!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: O gawsh~ Here comes the Training Session I was so nervous about posting. -_-; Hope it's alright to all you readers.

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Chapter 6 : I thought this came with name tags?

Alyce smiled awkwardly as Remy nudged her. "_Intéressant_! Remy had no idea you were the new recruit." Alyce nodded, casting her gaze to the floor of the Danger Room. She could see her reflection on the shiny tiled floor. All of them stood in the middle of the room, listening as Jean explained the upcoming training session.

No one really cared that she was there. All except for Remy who was extremely happy (proven by his big toothy grin). They just said 'hi' and that was it. Into the training room. Alyce breathed in quietly, still quiet rather nervous about everything. No one reacted, but she sure felt animosity from one of them. Bobby Drake, the one who was called Ice Man, seemed nice. His blonde hair and blue eyes matching that of an Angel, but Alyce knew......she felt that he didn't want her on the team. Even Jubilee, but that was nothing surprising. Alyce had been pranked by her many a times, she knew Jubilee didn't like her as much.

"Hey, Kid.."

Alyce looked up to her left. Logan had appeared next to her. "You sure you're ready?" He whispered.

Alyce blinked and took in a deep relaxing breath. "As much as I don't want to be here, doing this. Sure, I am ready."

"Your old man told me you might feel that way. You think you're ready for the outside stuff we do? It isn't a piece of cake you know..."

"So I heard. I've learned everything I know from my Dad......not like them....they've learned from simulations, computers..."

"They've learned from each other.."

Alyce looked over at Logan. "They haven't learned from the world."

"Session is about to start!" Jean called over, everyone turning around to the pair who looked at each other with grim looks. Logan nodded and placed a hand on Alyce's shoulder. "You're a tough cookie,I'll give it a few weeks for your tough nature to let up..."

Before Alyce could protest, the plain training room began to shift and morph into another scene. She looked down at her boots as they began to stand over bright green grass. The air smelled fresh and crisp, looking up her eyes found trees instead of a tiled interior. A darkening blue sky, and heavy, thick grey clouds. Alyce stood wide eyed, she blinked her eyes and looked in front of her.

Only a few feet away was something. And it was coming fast. Faster and faster, running with great speed.

"Everyone get behind me! I'm going to throw up a shield." Bobby ushered everyone back.

"Are you kidding?!" Alyce called back. She jogged up to him. "At the rate that thing is coming at us, it will shatter your ice barrier and we're more likely to get hurt with your ice than that!"

Everyone looked on rather nervous about the incoming creature. "You guys better hurry up and figure it out..." Came Logan, who was busy lighting a cigar. "Juggernaut is closing in..."

"I'm throwing up a barrier...everyone hold onto Kitty." Bobby threw a dirty look at Alyce. She looked at everyone as they crowded around Kitty, who gave a worried look. Alyce focused her attention back to Bobby who was busy concentrating on his wall...

Ice began to form, getting higher. But the Juggernaut wasn't getting any slower. _At the rate this is going, he's going to die..._ Alyce thought. Quickly without thinking, she hoped over the growing ice wall.

"What are you doing?!" Bobby called out.

"Ice-Man! Just leave her. She's just being hard headed!" Jubilee spat looking at Alyce with a look that read both disgust and hate. Alyce looked back. "Throw up the wall..." She answered. She readied her self and looked dead on into the mutant that was coming. She clenched her fists. Alyce knew what she was going to do. She would show the Professor that she didn't need these training sessions to learn about her powers.

Remy looked on as Bobby's ice wall completely closed. "_Mon Ami_, Gambit thinks you did something stupid." He let go of Kitty and sighed, tugging on his brown leather trench coat.

"What?" Bobby rolled his eyes. "She wanted to go out there. Not my problem."

"But we're a team for a reason!" Kitty called out. She shrugged herself away from everyone. She began to take a step forward when Gambit grabbed her arm. "Listen to _moi_, _joli_, Gambit thinks she doesn't need any help." Kitty gave a confused look to Gambit, who smiled and winked his eye.

Jubilee walked up to Gambit and shoved his shoulder. "What is that supposed to mean? You like her don't you?"

Logan looked on as he smoked his cigar. They were all really arguing in the danger room. Bickering over little love affairs. Surely the Professor would call all of them in for a nice little chat, including him. He sighed deeply, inhaling the smoke he had just blew out of his mouth. Jubilee kept on ranting, Gambit just hanging his head in shame, Rogue talking quietly to Bobby. Piotr just standing quiet, with Kitty next to him. And John looking at the ice wall intently.

"Uhhhh, something is coming..." John stammered, slowly moving to the side. He squinted his eyes at the ice wall, and quickly jogged to another spot in the danger room. "MOVE!" John yelled.

As soon as he yelled it, a huge object crashed into the ice wall, shattering ice everywhere. A giant tremor was sent threw the floor causing everyone to fall to their knees. Ice chunks began to fall everywhere. Rogue shook her head and ran a gloved hand over her face, wondering what had happened. She looked up and screamed. Coming her way was a massively huge ice chunk. All she could so was close her eyes, even for a simulation she still felt like she was going to die. She bit her lip and clenched her hands over her face and just waited for the worse to happen.....

"Open your eyes, Rogue."

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_Intéressant- _Interesting.

_Joli-_ Cute, (but since there's no translation for Cutey, Cute will do, lol.)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: It was like looking into the eyes of the Diablo.

John had spotted her in the library. Sitting in the back, behind all the tall mahogany shelves. She had a sketch book open in front of her, a pencil gliding fast on the paper. A couple of books lay around her on the table, all opened and scattered. John looked at Alyce intently, she would look up and acknowledge him soon enough. He flicked his lighter as he waited, still looking at her.

Alyce stopped drawing and took in a breath. "Did Jubilee set you up to do something?" She asked quietly.

John plastered a confused look on his face. "What?" He asked, leaning on a nearby shelf. He really wanted to laugh. Everyone knew that Jubilee frequently pranked Alyce any time she could. Why she pranked her, he never knew why. No one ever did. It was just funny. "If anything, you know, she won't be bothering you for a while."

"Why is that?"

"She got pretty spooked at what you pulled off in the Danger Room."

Alyce looked up and smiled. It wasn't a proud smile, more of a scared, apologetic smile. "I don't believe that." She spoke, her eyes going back down to her sketch pad. Alyce had never done anything wrong to Jubilee in the first place. She had just figured it was the classic bully syndrome.

John chuckled quietly and walked over to Alyce's table. He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. "Rogue said you looked like a demon."

Alyce hung her head low and looked at her sketch pad. "I saved her."

"No you didn't. It's a simulation, she wouldn't have gotten hurt anyway."

Alyce stood quiet, not knowing how to respond.

John opened his lighter and flicked it on, a small blue flame dancing on the top. "So you can turn into a monster?"

"No." Alyce answered. All this unwanted conversation, this is exactly why she didn't want to join the X-Men. Sooner or later, she would be getting approached by other kids, asking her all these questions about her powers. Or whatever else, Jubilee had decided to make up. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her sketch book. "I guess I just put on that appearance."

"The red eyes, and the clawed hands, the clawed....everything."

Alyce chuckled. She didn't know why she found it funny, she just did. "That's my angry look." She got up and began to close all the books she had scattered around her. John looked on quietly, thinking of what to ask next.

"So you can turned into a clawed......_thing_?"

Alyce looked at him with a glare. John looked back, meeting her eyes with the same intensity. He let out a small laugh. "If you don't want me to keep going on like this, then explain it."

"I don't know how to explain it."

"Then I'll just assume you make clawed things happen. And according to everyone on the team, you're a demon."

Alyce shrugged. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she liked the idea of people thinking she was scary. That way they wouldn't talk to her. But a part of her, didn't want people to think she was. She was a nice girl. All she ever got was people picking on her and belittling her.

"I go bump in the night." Alyce murmured over to John. When she looked up to see why he hadn't responded, she noticed he had left. A pang of sadness washed threw her. She didn't want any friends, but she didn't want to be alone either.

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The phone was ringing. And all Alyce wanted more, than anything at the moment, was for her Dad to pick up. She felt like crying her eyes out, but the kids walking around made sure she didn't.

_Isn't that the one that like....went demonoid in the danger room?_

_Yea, how did you know?_

_Jubilee is talking about it, she says she has the whole team scared._

Alyce knocked her fist lightly on her leg. By now she should be so used to the teasing and the name calling and the rumors. But this time it was different. For whatever reason, this was affecting her differently. Alyce placed her head on the wall of the phone booth. The phone still ringing in her ear. It was different this time, because it wasn't about her outside appearance, or how timid and shy she was. It was about her being a mutant. She was being ridiculed by her own kind. Alyce dropped her head in her hand and hung up the phone.

"_It can't get any worse...I've lived here for months, and now is when everything turns into hell."_ And the time she really needed to talk to her Dad, he didn't even pick up the phone. Sighing heavily, Alyce got up from the phone booth. The hallways had begun to clear out as everyone flocked to the kitchen for food. What was Alyce going to do with herself?

"If _la petite_, is hungry, Remy will accompany her to lunch?"

Alyce slightly jumped upon hearing Remy's voice. She looked over to him and shook her head. "No thanks." She answered, turning her back.

"Why not?" Remy called out, confused.

Alyce didn't answer. She just kept walking, leaving Remy's question in the air. She just wanted to get to her bed and sleep. She wasn't going to go to any of her other classes. Her first Danger Room session and she defeated the enemy, but in return everyone just thought she was a monster. She was better off alone to begin with.

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_la petite- _the baby


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Ghost

"She hasn't shown up to the rest of her classes. And from what I'm hearing around the halls, I can understand why." Jean shook her head and looked over to the Professor, who sat behind his desk. "They're scared because they don't know anything about her, or her abilities."

"Everything comes with time, Jean. Ever since Alyce has arrived here, she has been picked out by Jubilee. I think it's more over of having a talk with her than with Alyce. She came to this school to be with others like herself, but instead she is being called a monster."

Jean shook her head. "This is teen aged behavior. I'm sure it can be resolved if we just sat them alone."

Professor Xavier chuckled. "My dear, Jean. Even adults act like this. We need to talk to the entire team as a whole. Call them in."

"Maybe we should just take her off the team. She didn't want to be on it."

"None of them wanted to be on the team in the beginning. They all thought of it to be far fetched. Alyce is a strong case to crack. Both of her parents are mutants, and she has learned from them plenty on how to control her powers. Her own father used to go to this school when it first opened. She thinks there is nothing to learn."

"She needs to learn teamwork, no doubt about that. She has her fathers 'go get 'em' attitude."

"She may seem that way to you, but she would rather much stay in the background of things. Hank has mentioned her lack of ability to make friends, or to even speak up and raise her hand in class." The Professor rubbed his temples and sighed. "This is difficult. Her parents asked me privately to put her on the team."

Jean looked at the Professor with a surprised look. "Really....I would've never guessed. Especially since her father doesn't really like Scott. I'm just confused now."

"It's complicated." The Professor chuckled, making Jean smile. "With time, my dear...with time."

Jean nodded and got up from her seat. "I'm going to get the kids gathered up. They aren't going to be happy about this, you know."

"Nothing we can't deal with." Xavier watched as Jean walked out the door and sat in silence. Alyce's father had warned the Professor when they had talked. His daughters powers were almost identical to his, a rare thing to come by. James had told the Professor that if, indeed, they did share the same power, then sooner or later she wouldn't be able to control it. No matter how well him and his wife had taught her about control and self restraint. They worried for her. It was the exact same reason that had brought James to the mansion so many years before.

It was going to be a challenge. But nothing Xavier couldn't handle.

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Jean breathed out in frustration. She had found all the members of the team, except for one. Alyce. Which wasn't surprising at all. Jean knew, felt rather, that Alyce didn't want to be found. She just wanted to be alone, like how she used to be. Jean shook her head and looked around the living room. Other students were around and about, laughing and talking with each other. But no Alyce.

Jean closed her eyes, as much as she didn't want to do this, she needed to find her. Sitting down on her bed with her sketch pad open, was Alyce. Her face was red and she sniffled as if she had just finished crying. Suddenly, her head snapped up causing Jean to open her eyes.

"_She knew I was trying to find her." _Jean thought, quickly jogging out of the day room and to the dorms before Alyce could disappear again. "_Well, her mother does have the same abilities as me..." _ Jean walked up the stairs as quick as she could, jogging up to the big double doors that lead to the girls dorm. She opened the door quietly and stepped in, peering in.

Despite it being almost night time, the dorm was eerily empty. Jean stepped in cautiously, suddenly thinking if she had passed Alyce in the hallway.

"Alyce?" Jean murmured. She walked down the massive dorm, her heels clicking. "I know you're in here."

Alyce sighed and closed her sketch book. "I wasn't going to go hide." Alyce murmured to herself, she sat up in her bed and looked up toward Jean. "I'm not going."

Jean gave a meek smile and sat down across from her on the empty bunk. "Why not?" She looked around the area she sat in and frowned. "You know maybe, we can ask the Professor to set you up in one of the private rooms. Would you like that?"

"If this is an effort to butter me up into going to that little 'meeting', then no. I don't need to be in a room with people who think I'm a blood thirsty monster."

"Alyce, it's not that they think you're a monster. They're just struggling to understand what kind of abilities you have. Maybe if you told them how your powers work, they wouldn't be afraid."

"Afraid, huh?" Alyce looked down, and slowly clenched her fists. She didn't want to get angry, or be unreasonable...but afraid? "Yea, afraid." She whispered. "Rogue can _kill_ someone is she wanted too, all she has to do is_ hold _on long enough, Bobby could _freeze_ someone to_ death_, John could _light_ someone on _fire_ if he wanted, Jubilee could make someone _spontaneously combust. _Do I need to go on? And I'm scary because I can form armour around my body?" Alyce sucked her teeth. "I'm sorry Ms. Grey, but this is stupid."

"Alyce I sympathize with your feelings, I really do. But just come and sit down, and listen to what the Professor has to say. Maybe they can tell you how they feel and everything won't be so bad."

Alyce looked up at Jean with a fury in her eyes. If she really did sympathize, then she would just leave her alone and call it a day. Take her off the team, and tell the rest of them to leave her alone. But no, she has to sit down in a meeting and hear the Professor talk. Alyce didn't want to be rude, she didn't like to be mean. Heck, if anything, this was the first time she spoke more than a few words to Ms. Grey.

"No..."

"Alyce...please?"

"Don't waste your time on me...." Alyce got up from the bed, causing Jean to get up right along with her.

"You're coming?"

"No.." She repeated one more time, before she started to walk out of the dormitory.

"So, then were are you going?" Jean asked, leaning on the side of the bunk bed. She crossed her arms and waited for Alyce to respond.

"Read my mind." She said sourly as she walked away.

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~How are my readers doing? ^_^;. Hope you liked the two chapters I uploaded ;D. Enjoy~and happy reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Friday! Sleeping in.

Alyce's icy blue eyes fluttered open. Greeted by the morning sun, Alyce shielded her eyes with her hands. She yawned and sat up from where she lay. "_I'm surprised Jean didn't come to wake me up."_ Alyce thought to herself. She stretched her arms up in the air, arching her back to stretch her sleep ridden muscles. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, looking around the room threw squinted eyes, until they got used to the sun.

Alyce was in the Day Room. A quiet place, with white couches and white curtains. Everything white, aside from the big grand father clock that lay in the corner. It was such a beautiful room, but no matter how beautiful it was no one ever came in. "_Guess it's boring without a TV." _Alyce spied another look at the clock and checked the time. "_10:30..."_ On a Friday. She still had class today. She stretched one more time and smiled. "_Guess I've built a good mental wall."_ She began fixing her hair thinking as she did. Her mother was, after all, a telepath just like Jean. She had learned a few tricks here and there to make sure no one could read her mind. Or rather, just make it hard for anyone to read anything.

Lazily, Alyce got up from the couch. Everything eerily quiet and empty, due to everyone in class. But still, for a large mansion with thousands of kids in it, it was still creepy to have it almost empty in the day time. She smiled suddenly, still surprised she had gotten away with sleeping in so late. "Why not skip the rest of class?" "_Why not?" _ After yawning another big yawn, Alyce trotted upstairs to the dorms, where she gathered some clean clothes and took a quick shower.

Dressed in a pair of simple dark wash jeans and a black shirt, Alyce sat down on her bed and frowned. She was beginning to feel guilty. She reached into her bedside draw and pulled out her schedule. "_English.."_ Alyce thought as she brushed her hair and pulled it back into a pony tail. It was already 11:40, her English class with Mr. McCoy would start in five minutes. Alyce bit her lip as she pulled a few loose strands to frame her face. She loved English class and Mr McCoy was her favourite teacher. Suddenly a new feeling washed over her. She didn't care what the X-Men team thought of her. She was going to go to her favorite class and enjoy it. Even art as well. Alyce huffed, agreeing with herself. She pulled on her thing black hoodie, and spritzed some perfume on herself. If she was lucky, she would get there before everyone and claim her seat.

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Not thinking of it, Alyce opened the door to her classroom and held her breath.

"Ah! Alyce!" Came the voice of Hank McCoy AKA Beast, as he was called on the team. Alyce really didn't like the name. He was anything _but_ a beast. She exhaled, noticing the class was empty.

"Amazing, right?" Mr. McCoy chimed, dusting chalk off his hands and looking at his watch. "You think they would be on time."

Alyce chuckled and smiled. Looks like things might work in her favour. She walked to the back of the class and opened her locker.

"We're still reading Amistad in this class." Hank signed, writing something on the board. Alyce frowned. In her other class, she had managed to finish the book, and was reading independently, working on a separate project.

"No worries though." Hank chuckled. "Just continue with what you were doing in the other class."

Alyce smiled, taking out her Catcher in the Rye book. She fished around for her notebook and closed the locker, taking her regular seat. Last row, all the way to the left side next to the window.

"Made any friends on the team?" Hank asked, not looking up as he read the latest Time Magazine.

"No.." Alyce shook her head.

"Really?" Hank peered up from his glasses. "I saw you chatting with Remy."

"Nothing major." She murmured, looking down as she opened her book and began to read.

"Going to training this afternoon?"

"No."

"Well, just get to the rest of your classes then. Brains before brawn, ey?"

Alyce chuckled. "Brains before brawn." She knew Hank would understand. He always knew she was the loner type, and accepted it. Didn't try to change her at all.

"If it helps...." Hank got up from his seat and made his way to the door. "I'll be assisting in the training with Ms. Monroe." He opened the door and the rest of the team came in. Alyce looked over at Hank and nodded her head. She ignored the looks as everyone sat in their seats, not bothering to make small talk with her. She rested her head on her hand and began reading, ignoring Jubilee's signs and murmurs.

"_I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes.."_ Her favourite line from the book, she had read it almost a dozen times.

"Hi..."

Alyce looked over to Rogue, who blushed and cased her eyes down. So she wasn't scared? Like how they said she was? Alyce raised an eyebrow, looking at Rouge who was digging through her school bag.

"Hi, back." Alyce smiled a little, as Rogue cocked her head to the side, surprised she had mentioned anything. Rogue's eyes lightened and she returned the smile.

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"Well I can see everyone is getting restless." Hank spoke, closing the book he carried in his hand and setting it on his desk.

"Are we starting break, seriously, my ass is killing me." John stretched his arms out and yawned getting a small chuckle from the rest of the class. Hank sighed and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. _Does it require medical attention?_ Hank thought, his rather cheesy medical joke making him chuckle to himself. He couldn't blame them though, it was a three hour class. "Alright, get outta here, but come back in 10."

Alyce gave off a small yawn and arched her back. She never left the room when it came to break, even though the class so indeed long. It was only once a week however, so she had deemed it bearable to sit for the three hours. She her knuckles and buried her nose back into her book.

"_Mon Ami_, Remy is going to take advantage of_ le monstre_ not being here to talk to you."

"Ok.." Alyce answered, not looking up from her book. She knew by _le monstre_ he had meant Jubilee. Her mind began to wonder. If he thought of her in that context, why was he still with her? Remy shifted in his seat in front of her and peered over her book. "Good book...how come _la chere_ wasn't in class yesterday?"

"Skipped."

"How is that possible?"

Alyce smiled. She knew what he meant. In the mansion, no one could get away with skipping. Not with The Professor and Jean. "I have my ways." Alyce murmured, referring to her mother. She looked up at Remy, confused by his silence. He always had a comeback for everything. She cocked her head and raised her eyebrow, and he suddenly plastered a big toothy grin on his face. "_La Petite_ is coming to the rest of the class? To training? To lunch?"

Alyce bit back a giggle. All those questions made him seem like he was 5 years old, rather than a teenager. In fact, she had never been sure if he was a teenager. He did look a bit older. But surely, not that old, seeing as how he was placed in a classroom full of 18-19 year olds. "Maybe." She responded.

"Awww, c'mon _Madame _really hurt Remy's feelings last time. You owe _moi."_

Before Alyce could protest, everyone started coming back from their breaks. Remy gave her one more smirk and got up to go to his seat. She began to bury herself back in her book when a folded up piece of paper hit her desk. She looked up at Kitty, who winked and gave her a thumbs up.

Exactly what did the Professor tell them? Alyce quietly opened the note, keeping it folded in her so Hank wouldn't catch her teetering from her work.

"_Hiya Alyce! :) How are you? You didn't come to class yesterday, OR this morning. I had wanted to tell you that, I think your powers are pretty sweet! :) The Professor told us a little about them, and hey, it's better than walking threw walls....but you can do that too????? Any who, come to lunch with us today? Pwwwwweassseeeee???_

_~Kitty"_

Us? Everyone? Were they all feeling sorry for her or something? Alyce folded up the paper and stuck it in her book. What was with the sudden change of emotion? If anything, all of this sudden change was rather scary and weird. Alyce looked up and caught Kitty's gaze, which was full of question. Alyce sighed and very slowly gave a thumbs up. Right in her seat, Kitty beamed with happiness. A little bit more she could've jumped up and cheered, but she went back to work. Instantly Alyce regretted what she had done. A cheesy thumbs up. She bit her lip and dove back into her book. Maybe some form a miracle would happen, and lunch time wouldn't get to come. But Alyce highly doubted that. "_God..."_Alyce thought. "_Why the thumbs up?"_

______________________________  
_

_**Glossary de la Gambit**_

_le monstre_- The monster

_Madame- _Madam

_Moi- _Me

____________________________

A/N: One chapter upload today~Hope you guys don't mind, I was a bit busy ^-^;. Besides, I need to keep writing new chapters so when I get up to 15, it won't slow down (because I already have 15 written). Alright so! Once again, thank you so much for reading! It really helps to get feedback so I know you guys are liking what you're reading! C: Ciao~!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Food & Fight

"Ooo Ravioli!" Kitty chimed and began filling up her plate. Rogue began doing the same. Alyce looked at her plate and to the mountain of hot steaming ravioli. How exactly did the Professor get so much food for all of the kids? Everyday? Three times a day? Not to mention a well stocked fridge? A mystery never to be solved. She moved away from the hot food, and grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She grabbed an apple as she headed out from the kitchen.

"You forgot your soda." Rogue followed, handing over a warm Pepsi. "It's warm, I know. But that's what Bobby is for."

"Ok! Let's go get the regular table." Kitty walked out of the kitchen, pasta piled high and salad hugging the sides of her plate. Who knew such a tiny girl could eat so much. Alyce quietly followed the pair threw the crowded dining area, dodging the young kids who ran from all sides of the place. They arrived to a square table, in the very heart of the room. Alyce settled her tray down to the corner of the table, and noticed that a few trays already sat, food untouched.

Did they do everything together? Eat, train, class. Alyce wouldn't be surprised if at times they all slept next to each other. Alyce shuddered and sat down, she unwrapped her sandwich and began to take small rhythmic bites. Occasionally, she looked up from where she stared at the table to acknowledge the team as they came to sit.

Remy finally came to sit, his arm around Jubilee as she sipped on her soda. He looked over at Alyce and nodded his head, looking over to Jubilee. "_Can't talk to you, because of her..."_ Was what the look said. Alyce shook her head lightly and smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "_Ha ha~ Have fun!"_

A silence loomed over the table as everyone began to eat. Everyone looked up however, when a strong voice broke the silence. "Kurt says you draw?"

Alyce chewed and swallowed, running her tongue over her teeth to get rid of any traces of peanut butter. "Mmmhmm." She responded, looking over to where the voice came from. Piotr Rasputin.

"Ah, I saw some of your artwork downstairs in the art room. Very nice."

"Thanks, you too." Up until now Alyce never knew how thick Piotr's accent was. But when he spoke more than one word it was noticeable. She also noted how calm he sounded. His voice wasn't aggressive as she had once thought. He was a big guy, very intimating, but it seemed he was just a calm, quiet and peaceful character.

"Hey, would you look at that..." John piped up, knocking his words into the conversation. "You two would get along great, I mean look, you guys barely talk. Maybe you guys together could string up more than a paragraph a day."

Piotr shot a glance over at John. Piotr mumbled something under his breath and continued eating his food. Alyce looked at him and decided Piotr was just a Zen Master. He had to be, if he dealt with John like that on a daily basis. She didn't even know John so well, but she knew he was a smart mouth. Alyce also shot John a glance, to which he returned a wink. She began to open her soda when Rogue stopped her.

"Let Bobby chill it for you." Upon hearing his name called, Bobby stopped in mid stride of placing a french fry in his mouth. He quickly stuck it in his mouth and chewed, his other hand reaching out and poking the bottle. Alyce watched as the bottle iced over instantly. "Thank..." Alyce muttered, Bobby not saying anything but continuing to eat his fries. Alyce took the bottle back from Rogue. _I would've drank it hot..._Alyce though, a bit sourly.

"I'm so sleepy!" Kitty yawned, patting her belly, which did seem to be a bit bigger. She leaned over on Piotr who blushed. Everyone could obviously tell they liked each other. So what was actually stopping them from being a couple? Alyce thought it was their age. Kitty being 15 and Piotr being 19. That being statutory rape. How did that saying go? Age was nothing but a number.

"We still have training." Kitty growled with dismay.

Upon hearing that, Jubilee shot a glance over to Alyce. She tried her best to ignore it, but the burning feeling of being stared at made her look up. She and Jubilee locked eyes. "Coming to training?" Jubilee suddenly spoke. Everyone at the table grew quiet. They all new Jubilee didn't like Alyce. Alyce shot a quick look at Remy, then to Jubilee. She casted her eyes down, nodding her head.

"_You idiot!" _Alyce thought. "_Looking down is a sign of being submissive."_

Jubilee smirked. "Was that a yes?"

"Ugh.." Bobby sighed, sipping his soda. "Just drop it, Jubilee."

"Drop what?" She asked, acting confused. "I was just asking a question."

Alyce began to boil. She didn't need Bobby sticking up for her. He didn't even want her on the tram. As much as she didn't want to start trouble with Jubilee, her patience was running thing. "It was a yes." Alyce muttered, trying her best to not explode.

"See?" Jubilee cautioned to Bobby. "Just a question."

John looked over at Alyce, smirking, flicking his lighter. "_You know you just want to hit her." _ His face read. And she did, she wanted to reach over and punch Jubilee in the face. He knew she was angry. Alyce dropped her eyes from his fiery gaze. She got up and took her tray.

"Where are you going?" Rogue asked, alarmed.

"To...throw out my trash." Alyce chuckled.

"Oh...duh, right?" Rogue smiled, blushing lightly.

Alyce walked over to the conveyor belt and put her tray on it. She signed, taking in a deep breath to try to calm herself.

"Why so tame, Talon Girl?"

Alyce looked up, her eyes once again connected to Johns. "Well?" He asked, throwing his tray next to Alyce's. She just continued looking at him. She didn't know whether to ask what he meant or be mad at the fact that he called her Talon Girl.

"I don't know." She responded, she turned and made her way to the exit.

"Hey!" John ran up, grabbing her arm. "The table is that way." He jerked his chin in the other direction.

"I know...but training is this way." She smiled then, catching John off guard. He loosed his grip, staring at her as she walked off. John huffed to himself, smiling and running a hand threw his hair. "You're still a clawed thing..." He murmured. _"With a beautiful smile..."_

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Logan sipped his beer, taking each sip and savoring the brewed taste. God forbid should Professor X or Storm, or anyone, catch him drinking a beer. On school grounds. That was just asking for him to get in trouble. At least he was outside, but c'mon, a grown man needed a beer now and then. Even the little girl of a man, Scott Summers. He reached the bottle up to his mouth when the door that led to the day room slammed open, causing him to jump, his beer almost falling out of his hands.

He looked over, hiding the beer behind his back. "Whoa, kid."

Alyce looked over to him and took in a deep breath, pushing the hair from her face. Her face was red and she just looked downright angry. She shot an apologetic look to him and relaxed her face. "Sorry about that. Interrupting the happy hour?"

"No..." He answered, raising an eyebrow at her. "Look don't tell---"

"I won't. Promise." She answered, holding up her hand and placing the other over her heart. "You can finish, I'll just pretend to not be looking."

Logan chuckled. "So what's up? You're looking a bit annoyed."

"Do I? Really?"

"Yea, kid. The whole door opening, red face look pretty much gives it off."

Alyce sighed. "I'm not one to get angry quick, but lately I don't know. I feel like sooner or later I'm just going to go ape-shit."

Logan took a sip from his beer and thought to himself quickly. "Let me guess. Jubilee?"

"Oh God." Was all Alyce could muster up.

"She's a tough cookie that kid. I don't blame her, rough childhood."

"Sure."

Finishing off his beer, Logan looked over to Alyce who had sat down on one of the nearby lawn chairs. She sat gazing off into nothing, what she was thinking he had no idea. "Don't let it get to, ya kid. You're a strong girl."

"You sound like my mom." Alyce chuckled. "Are you sure you aren't her controlling Logan to give me a motivational speech?"

Logan smiled. Knowing her mother well, it was plausible. "Naw, kid. All me here. I'll see you in training."

"Wait.." Alyce called out, causing Logan to pause mid-stride on his way to the door. "I feel as if...I don't know..one day, boom. You know?" She didn't look up to meet his eyes, Alyce feared if she did, he would know everything that was in her mind. She took in a deep breath and watched as Logan came and sat next to her.

"Your powers?" He asked calmly, seeming very concerned.

Alyce dropped her head into her hands. "Lately, all the change, it's stressing me out. Then after the talk that the rest of them had with the Professor, they've all been acting completely different. I hear Jean often tell us that our powers are in sync with out emotions, true, sure. I don't know, if I get anymore stressed out I have no idea what could happen. I've seen my Dad get super whacked out, it wasn't pretty. I don't know what to do..." Alyce stopped in mid sentence.

Logan leaned back in his seat. "Off the record here, kid. I told you so. I told you to give it week before you end up crackin'."

"All it took was three days, or whatever."

"If you feel that way, I would say to talk to the Professor."

"And then what? So he can tell me I need to learn how to control my emotions and my abilities? Anyone could tell me that. What would you do, Logan?"

Logan looked over to Alyce. Her face was locked with sadness and desperation. She was almost like a niece to him, with her father being a close friend. He couldn't just not deny her his advice, or his help. Even though his way of doing things was never anything close to normal. "I would say, go somewhere. By yourself. Like, ask Jean to give you the training room to yourself, or go into the woods that's near the school. And then just let go."

"What do you mean?"

"Go ape-shit. Destroy some stuff, get your anger out. I've done it before."

"Is that why I often hear the sounds from the woods?" Alyce chuckled.

"Never knew anyone could hear me."

"I'm kidding." Alyce got up from her seat. Being at the school and away from her parents did take a toll on her, but oddly enough having Logan around kept her calm. Maybe it was because, in some way he reminded her of her father. She looked over at Logan and smiled. "Thanks. Sorry you had to bear with my little girly trauma."

"Heh, no problem kid. Rather have you be girly than suddenly ripping everyone to shreds."

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Any comments? Feel free to write 'em up :D


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Oh what Marvelous Things!

One of the good things about having a custom outfit was that it wasn't so tight. Alyce smiled to herself as she moved around in her uniform. It wasn't so bad, but as she had used her powers to make it, she had heard the other girls on the team;

"Gosh!" Rogue spoke, annoyance in her voice. "These uniforms are so tight."

"I get wedgies every time I lift my leg, this is stupid." Kitty spoke as she tried to take out her wedgie, to no avail.

"How are you liking the uniforms?" Came a voice behind Alyce. She looked back and was surprised to be face to face with Jubilee. But her face held no secret meaning, she was just asking a genuine question.

Alyce took some time to form her words as she watched Jubilee stuff her clothes into a black locker. "I really wouldn't know about them being a discomfort." She spoke, fixing her gloves for what seemed the umpteenth time. Jubilee looked up and glanced, bottom to top, at Alyce. "There nothing but tight. I guess it's because it's leather, takes some time to break in."

"Yea...I made my own."

"How?" But it wasn't Jubilee's voice, it was Rogues', who had came up upon seeing the two talk.

"My powers...." Alyce murmured, before walking out of the locker room. It was just beyond her mind as to why Jubilee had decided to do a complete 180 in her attitude. _Maybe she's just been on her period...for a really long time..._Alyce had decided. Or maybe Jubilee was just befriending her and then later on stab her in the back? Who knew.

As Alyce left the locker room she pondered on it. Anything could be possible. Before she even joined the team she never spoke with Jubilee or even be in the same room as her. She just liked to pick on her and play pranks. Rubbing her temples in frustration, Alyce had decided not to think anymore on the idea. Just be weary of Jubilee.

"So, planning to go berserk?"

Alyce kept walking down the long metallic hallway. She didn't have to look up to know who it was. "No. Why?"

"Just asking, it could be possible."

_flick, click, flick click flick click_

"You really like that lighter, don't you."

"Why wouldn't I? You really like being a monster huh?"

Alyce skidded to a halt and turned to face John Allerdyce. "Pardon?" She huffed, her anger fuming inside of her as she looked up to meet John's eyes.

"You heard me. You like it?" His eyes were being serious, but they had a playful glint. He looked down at Alyce, staring at her intently as she bit her lip and looked for an answer. "You're short." He added as he pushed past her.

"Just what is your problem with me?" Alyce spit out as she grabbed his arm.

"Heh.." He chuckled, looking down to her gloved hand that had grabbed onto his arm. And it wasn't a girly grab either, he decided. It was firm grip, an angry one. He stepped back and took his place in front of her, ignoring the stares as Bobby passed with Rogue and the others. "I don't have a problem with you."

"So then why do you keep doing this then?"

"Doing what?"

"Calling me a monster. I get enough from Jubilee." Alyce took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She loosened her grip on John's arm. "Sorry." As she let her arm fall back to her side, John grabbed it, holding onto it with an even firmer grip. He leaned in close to her ear. "You don't realize this, but we're all monsters."

"Hey, this punk bothering you, Kid?"

John loosened his grip and pushed past Alyce, completely ignoring Logan, who had came up to investigate. Alyce casted her gaze down to the floor. "No, every thing's fine."

"Don't pay attention to that little jerk. He's nothing but trouble."

"Yea, tell me about it."

Logan looked down at Alyce and furrowed his brow with concern. "Sure you're alright? You look kinda pale."

"I'm always kinda pale. Training...let's go do that." She looked up and tried to give her best smile to Logan, who seemed unconvinced that she was ok. But she turned around and walked into the training room, ignoring the fiery hot gaze from the Pyro.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A_vez-vous besoin d'une aide ?_

"A_vez-vous besoin d'une aide, mon cheri?"_

"What?" Alyce huffed as she plastered herself up against a wall. She took in a deep breath and looked over to Remy, who walked nonchalantly over to her, despite the flying balls of flame. "Help...do you need it?"

Alyce closed her eyes and tried her best to catch her breath. All she heard was explosions and Remy's thick Cajun accent. "I don't need any help thanks."

"Remy is talking about with John. Remy doesn't like how he was all in your face." Alyce looked over to Remy as he pulled out a deck of playing cards and shuffled them. He looked up and winked at her, before charging a card up with a bright pinkish energy and throwing it at an incoming flaming piece of metal. It exploded, little sharp shards coming their way.

Alyce pushed herself up off the wall and quickly moved over to Remy, who stood as if nothing was happening. She threw up her right arm, and formed a big shield over their heads. The sound of thousands of broken metal was heard.

Face to face with Alyce, Remy smiled and pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen onto her face. "Remy can take care of that little pest, no problem _mon chere."_ Alyce took a step back and dropped her arm, the shield disappearing.

"Don't worry about it, Gambit." Alyce sighed, not thinking anything of Remy and his approach on her. "Aren't you supposed to be calling yourself Gambit in the training room?"

"Gambit guesses so." He sneered, smiling a devilish grin.

"What's with you?"

"What?"

"Why are you acting like that...all lovey dovey?"

"Gambit just likes to show his appreciation, 'tis all. Gambit likes you like a little sister, just wants to take care of you."

"Right." It wasn't Alyce being ungrateful or mean. Her mind was just being distracted by the training room session. She didn't want what happened last time to rise up again. But it was hard. Being in these types of simulations made her blood boil. Her body just wanted to erupt and use her powers.

"Oh~" Remy sighed. "We'll talk about this later, Jubilee needs Gambit's help."

Alyce watched as Remy walked right back to where he stood before. Taking his sweet time, like if he was walking in a park. _He must've done this plenty of times._ Alyce stepped out, quickly forming a shield over her body. One of the rules that Hank had mentioned was that they had to stick together. But this was hardly the case. Everyone was scattered about, fending off killer machines. Really, killer machines.

Alyce's heart beat with excitement as she walked to the center of the chaos, several humanoid robots locking onto her with red eyes. By now, Bobby Drake had caught a glimpse of Alyce. This girl was beyond crazy. He didn't know whether she was trying to show off, or just simply trying to get the session done so she can go back to being by herself. He paused from his thinking to blast a spray of ice at an incoming machine. He looked over to Rogue to check if she was ok, and continue to look over to Alyce.

There was no denying that she was a great help to the team, a great asset. But she could take care of a whole session if she wanted to, he assumed, and no one else would have to do anything. He watched as she formed a shield and threw it into the air. It came down and pushed into every single machine, slicing it in half. He winced as it passed him, the sound of the breaking air almost making his ears pop.

"Awesome, right?" Rogue whispered in his ear as she stood next to him.

"Yea." He agreed. It was awesome, but he was team captain. And as long as Alyce had a place on the team, then no one else would get to do anything. Was he wrong for thinking so? A side of him was telling him he was being jealous. Was it really that?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John stepped into his shared room and hoped Bobby wasn't already in. The welcoming darkness told him the room was empty and he stepped in. The only reason he had joined the X-Men was for the single room. It was better than being in the packed dorms with snoring guys and flatulence. The only downside was that the room was shared with someone else on the team. And with his rotten luck he had gotten Bobby Drake as a roommate.

John switched on the light next to his bed and plopped himself down, undoing his laces on his sneakers. He yawned, stretching himself out on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. His side of the room was empty, a few scattered posters here and there, but nonetheless empty. No family frames, no pictures of the family dog or cat. Just the white wall. Bobby's side of the room, however, was full with pictures. His mother, his father, his brother, pictures of Rogue.

They were like total opposites. It was no wonder they were always clashing. John snapped out of his thoughts as the door to the room opened.

"Oh. Hey, John." Bobby murmured walking into the room.

"Drake.." Was all John responded with.

A silence loomed over the room, and the sound of the window opening shattered it. "How'd you like training today?"

"Why are you making idle chat with me, Drake? What? Little Death Touch, didn't give it up tonight?"

Bobby furrowed his brow as he hung up a few shirts that lay on the floor. "I was just asking. Do you always have to be a dick?"

"Yes. Especially when you're asking me something to get an answer to something else."

Bobby looked over to John and rolled his eyes. Maybe it was his cool, calm, and collective manner that set John aflame. All the pun intended. Ignoring John, Bobby sat on his bed and grabbed his laptop.

"What is it, Drake? What do you want to know?" John stared intently as Bobby typed in a few things on his laptop. "Don't ignore me."

"I'm not, calm down." Bobby typed a few more words and set his laptop aside. "What happened with Alyce?"

"Nothing."

"How come you confronted her today? Before training?"

"I didn't. She confronted me. And?"

Bobby huffed. Leave it to John to answer a question and at the same time _not_ answer it. "I've been thinking of asking the Professor to put her back in her old classes. She doesn't belong on the team."

John let out a laugh and got up from his bed. "Yea, suddenly you think you're hot shit as a team leader. Get a life, Drake."

"It's not about any of that." Bobby growled.

John stopped mid stride to the door and looked over to Bobby. "Why are you telling me? I can't do anything. Go bring it up with someone who cares." Before Bobby could respond, John walked out of the room, slamming the door.

"_God, what a dick."_ Bobby whispered to himself. Not thinking much of John's reaction, he got up from his bed and made his way to the bathroom, running the cold water and splashing some on his face. Then it hit him. _Is John starting to like her?_ He thought as he washed his face and began brushing teeth. It could be possible, but then again who knew. John just liked to stir up trouble and get a rise out of people.

A soft knock came at the door, and Bobby smiled. He quickly rinsed his mouth with water, and jogged over to the door opening it.

"Hi, there." He murmured, looking down at Rogue, who smiled. She tippy-toed and quickly gave a light peck on Bobby's cheek. The most they could do. Her leaving her lips on his face for more than a couple of seconds would send him into shock. He noticed that she wore a light sweater, and he pulled her in for a hug, closing the door to his room. Bobby often wished it was easier for him and Rogue to express their love. Many a night he dreamed of it and all the things they could do. But they couldn't, and he still loved her.

"Where's John?" Rogue asked as she sat down on Bobby's bed and began using his laptop.

"He stormed out. Probably won't be back until later."

"So we have some alone time?"

"Yup..." Was all Bobby answered with as he pushed her aside and cuddled up next to her.

_____________________________________________

**Glossary de la Gambit**

A_vez-vous besoin d'une aide- _Do you need help?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Late night interruptions.

Alyce was tired. But she was happy. Not only did she have a training session without scaring anyone, but she also got her own room. When she arrived at the dorms, shit-tired, all of her things where gone. At first she thought it was Jubilee, but she was with her at the training session the whole time. And as she walked closer to her bed, lay a small note.

"_Alyce. Your room is on the 3rd floor. Room 356."_

It wasn't a shared room. It was her own room. Complete with desk, armoire, king sized bed, and walk in closet. Even two big bookcases, filled with all the books she had brung with her when she had first arrived at the mansion. Not to mention, finally, her own bathroom. Now she didn't have to worry about any of the girls throwing cold water over the stalls. To celebrate, Alyce sat alone. In the kitchen. A pint of peanut butter swirl and a spoon lay in front of her. She opened it and spooned a gigantic spoonful into her mouth.

She had never been this happy in all the time she had been here.

"You should share."

Alyce smiled as John sat across from her. His face plastered with confusion. "Why are you smiling?"

Alyce chuckled and plopped another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "I'm just happy. Want some?" Without thinking, Alyce handed John the spoon and pushed the pint of ice cream toward him. Surprised at the gesture, John pushed it back. "No thanks."

"Thought you wanted some?"

He stood quiet as he flicked his lighter. He looked up at Alyce who stared at him. "What? You're acting creepy."

"It's one of the few rare occasions when I'm happy to be here. And you're the only one whose around to share it with. C'mon, just take some."

Giving in, John took the spoon from Alyce and dug into the pint. He took one spoonful and pushed it back to Alyce who was busy sipping on a glass of water. "So what's the occasion of being happy?" He watched as she wiped water from her chin. "The training session went well. And I got my own room."

"Nice."

"Yea, don't have to worry about being around the mean girls."

John chuckled. "You sound like you're 10." She was cute, he had to admit. Her face was bright and cheerful and her eyes sparkled. Why she wasn't like this all the time, he pondered on it. But she was also cute when she wasn't happy. Her eyes had an intensity to them and she seemed strong, defiant. Even though now she was happy, she seemed the most vulnerable. Over the past few days that she had come to the team, he grew more and more curious about her. Wanting to learn more. Was this a crush developing?

"Well, at least tomorrow is Saturday. Get to sleep in." Alyce sighed, looking at the wall clock. "So, does that lighter hold any other significance? Beside it being used for your powers?"

John looked down at the lighter. "Nope." He held it up for Alyce to see, holding it in between his pointer finger and thumb. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. It almost seems as though without it you wouldn't know what to do."

"Maybe."

"A man of few words."

"Just like you when you're acting _normal_."

Alyce chuckled. "Want the rest of the ice cream?"

"Sure. You know, I never heard you speak more than right now. You should do it more often."

Alyce shrugged and finished off her glass of water. "I don't have other reason to talk. Like I said before, right now, just because I'm in a good mood and you're the person that happens to be around when I'm in it."

"So be happy more often."

"Right." Alyce felt her good mood diminishing as she sat here talking with John. Why was that? He just gave off this defiant feeling. Like he was better than anyone who stood within a few inches of him. "You know, I bet deep down, you can get happy too. You just don't like to show it. You'd rather be known as the tough guy with the fire abilities."

"Better to be feared than loved." John answered in his monotone. He finished off the ice cream and sat back in his seat. "You think what you want, monster."

"Again with the monster. You told me we're all monsters, why don't you call yourself that. Or anyone else for that matter?"

John smirked and leaned in as close as he could over the table. "Because you're just like me."

"I'm not like you." Alyce answered, leaning back. He stood inches away from her face as he spoke. It was like he enjoyed invading her personal space.

"You are." He whispered, the smell of ice cream still on his breath. "Everyone on this team is afraid of what we can do with our powers. Drake was telling me he wants you off the team."

Alyce stood shut. Why should she believe him? In a matter of minutes, her mood had been spoiled. She got up from her seat and left the kitchen. All she wanted to do was get to her new room, and sleep out what had just happened. She walked as quick as she could down the hall before she was stopped. A hand had grabbed onto her arm.

"He wants me off the team too."

"Really?" Alyce turned around and looked at John, sarcasm dripping in her voice. She wanted to spit out every mean thing she could think of, but she decided against it. She shrugged her arm out of his grip. They stood looking at each other in silence, a few students walking past them and chatting lightly.

"What? He doesn't like our abilities?" She asked, motioning John to walk. A couple of students had stopped to stare at them, it had to be because they were just standing in the middle of the hall like a pair of idiots not knowing what to do. John chuckled at her question. "I don't know for you, but he just doesn't like me."

As they walked closer to the grand stair case, John slowed his steps. "Let's go somewhere."

Alyce, noticing John wasn't next to her, turned around upon hearing his whispered voice. "Where?" She asked. Even though he had spoiled her mood just a few seconds ago, his whole demeanor had changed. Just when she thought she had figured him out, she found out she didn't. Now he was calm, less on edge. His face had relaxed and his eyes had softened their gaze.

"I don't know. Outside?" He shrugged and pushed his hands into the pockets of his dark brown hoodie. Without answering, Alyce walked next to him. "Lead the way." She smiled.

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A/N: Hello there, readers C:

I just wanted to say that, updates might be coming a bit more slower than my usual everyday thing. I currently have 15 chapters written and we're on number 13 here lol. So that leaves me two more chapters to start writing more chapters lol. So if updates are a bit slow, forgive me ^-^;. I'll have a nice batch of new chapters to put up to make sure you guys are able to read new stuff every day!

Thanks for reading, once again, comments are lovely to read C:

~Saiyu


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A conversation under moon light.

"I never did anything to Bobby, why should he not like me?"

"You want him to like you?"

"No, I'm saying he shouldn't hate me."

John had led Alyce to the back of the mansion where a giant water fountain stood in the middle of the garden. He looked at the water coming out. As if maybe it might help him to answer Alyce. Truth was he didn't even know why Bobby hated him, really. Sure he was a smart ass now and then and liked to cause some commotion but nothing major. As to why Bobby didn't like Alyce, it really was puzzling.

John turned his head to look at Alyce, who took a seat on a nearby wooden garden bench. He sat next to her, still thinking for an answer. "I really don't know." He chuckled. "I guess he's just a jerk."

"Maybe." Alyce giggled.

"So, I heard both of your parents are mutants. You're not supposed to be a mutant if you're their first child. It's supposed to skip a generation. Especially, if both are mutants."

"Yup, I know. I'm the only child. The truth is, my mom is actually my step mom. My dad's mutant gene is strong. So that's why it was passed on to me."

John open his lighter on and flicked the light on. "What happened to your real mother?"

"She died when I was born. My dad met Lilia when I was still young. She's pretty cool. Not trying to disrespect my real mother, but I consider Lilia my mother as well. I grew up knowing her as my mother until I was about 12. Then my dad broke it down to me."

"Sounds like a nice little family then."

Alyce bit her lip. She rarely talked about this. Maybe, it was because she was still mourning her real mother. But she never really knew her in the first place. Alyce shook her head, trying her best not to let it get to her. "Really dysfunctional, but fun." Her eyes caught the small flame that came from John's lighter. "Can you make something out of it? Like a flower?"

"Yea." John answered. He looked at the flame and it began to shift and form into a small little dandelion. He put his hand over it and the small fire flower, jumped to his palm. "Merry Christmas." He muttered, holding up his hand so Alyce could see. She took her hand and put it over the flame just enough to feel the warmth on her skin.

"Careful, it's hot."

"The blue flame is the most hot. Red isn't so dangerous." Paying attention in 's class, Alyce decided, was worth it. Anything to share little small tidbits of useless information.

"It still hurts." John spoke back, he stretched out his hand and the flower grew bigger.

"What about your family?" Alyce asked, still holding her hand above his. She began daring herself to make her hand go closer to the fire, but when her palm began to tickle with pain she lifted it back up.

John stood quiet, looking at Alyce threw the flame. "Don't like talking about it."

Without warning, Alyce quickly placed her hand over the flame. John flinched and his hand jerked. But before her hand touched his, the flame went out. Alyce smiled and let her hand settle on top of John's. She looked up at him and notice his face had turned completely white. "What's wrong?" She asked, alarmed.

"Why'd you do that?" John asked, the colour coming back slowly to his face. "Do you want to get hurt?"

Alyce lifted her hand and took a good look at it. She massaged the center of her palm. "My hand is fine. Nothing happened."

"Because, I took it out just in time." He closed his hand and formed a tight fist. "You're stupid."

"Am I? I liked playing with fire when I was little. You know like the little flame on the candle? I used to run my hand over it. Like playing chicken." Slowly, Alyce took a hold of John's fist. "Do it again."

John shook his head and released his hand from her grip. "I'm supposed to be the Pyromaniac here."

Alyce smiled to herself and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, feeling sleepy. She couldn't help but feeling she had done something wrong. From the corner of her eye, Alyce looked at John who stood quiet. "Sorry." She whispered, opening her eyes to look up into the dark sky.

John didn't answer as he got up from where he sat.

"Where you going?"

"Inside."

"Why? Did I do something wrong?" Alyce suddenly felt clingy. Maybe clingy wasn't the word, but _needy _was more like it. She had the urge to keep him next to her. Almost like she needed him for something. Taken aback by her own feelings, Alyce sat back and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.

"I'm just thirsty."

Alyce snapped her head up to him and smirked. "I can make you something. What do you want?"

Confused, John scrunched up his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Look."

John watched as Alyce brought her hands together. "What do you want?" She asked, her hands still placed together.

John thought for a moment. "I don't know, surprise me."

Alyce nodded her head in agreement, and casted her gaze over to her hands. She then turned her left hand up and closed her hands together. Almost as if she was hiding something inside. She then squeezed and turned her hands, opening them up. As her left hand rised, John noticed what seemed to be a bottle of water. As she rised her hand, the bottle shape was much more evident. And when the whole bottle had formed, Alyce placed her finger on the cap and held it out. "Enjoy. It's cold."

"What just happened?" John questioned, taking the bottle and looking at it. It even had the label and nutrition facts. He sat back down next to her and opened it, taking a sip.

"I can make anything with my powers. I just imagine it. If I know what it is, I can make it."

"So make money and be rich."

Alyce laughed. "I could, but my Dad made me promise I wouldn't use it for things like that."

"You always do what you're told?"

"Yea, but, even if I did, my mom would know. She can read minds and sense emotions."

"Sucks to be you." John sipped his water, still looking at the bottle as if something would be wrong with it. If he had powers like her, he would be filthy stinking rich. He would just travel everywhere, or just buy things he couldn't afford as a kid. "If I show you more fire, are you going to try to kill yourself with it?"

Alyce looked over to him and smiled. "I promise. Hey, you're done?" She asked pointing to the near empty bottle of water. He nodded and he handed it to her. She held it in between her palms and clasped her hands together. When she opened them back up it had disappeared.

"I think I'll call you Magician now."

"Sounds nice." Alyce responded. She twisted her body so that she face John. "I'm sitting like an Indian. Are you?"

"What?" John answered. "I'm going to sit regularly, thank you." He twisted the upper part of his body to face Alyce, and clicked open his lighter.

"You know, when the teachers tell the little kids to sit like an Indian, or a pretzel." She scooted closer to John, her knees touching his leg.

"I was always punished when I was younger. You know, sit in the corner, wear the dunce cap." He rested his elbow on one of Alyce's legs and opened his palm. With his other hand he lighted the flame on his lighter.

"Seriously?" Alyce questioned, finding the thought laughable. "That's kinda funny."

"I guess it is." John looked at the light and concentrated. The small flame bounced up and flew to his other hand, causing Alyce to jump. "Scared?" He asked.

"You can warn someone before you decided to make fire jump."

"I won't hurt you."

Alyce smiled and with both of her hands, she placed her fingers on John's palm. She slowly inched her fingers toward the little flame, but stopped. She had promised she wouldn't try to kill herself. Alyce laughed to herself. "What are you going to make?"

"I don't know. But no more flowers. I felt kinda queer."

"Ok.." Alyce chuckled. "Hmmm...I don't know." John shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what to make either. He slowly made the flame bigger and decided to just make it swirl. As it did, he was deciding on something else he should do.

With each swirl, he slowly got as close as he could toward Alyce. He was going to kiss her, and he wasn't going to be sorry about it either. He didn't know why he wanted too, he felt compelled too.

"Oh!" Alyce exclaimed, startling John. "How about a skull. You know like, not skull and cross bones, but, Hamlet skull."

John stood quiet and took the request. He formed the fire as best as he could and looked at it. "Looks pretty cool, huh."

"It does." Alyce decided she could touch it as long as she didn't go and clap her hands over it. She took her finger and inched it close to the floating skull, she tapped her fingers on John's hand to get his attention. "Go ahead." He answered. "But if you get burned don't come crying later on to me."

She chuckled. She touched it, but noticed that the flame had shifted out of her touch. "You're cheating."

"Not really." John mumbled. "Still haven't mastered it yet. Emotion interferes." He hoped she didn't catch what he just said.

"Hmm?" She answered, as she tried to touch it, but with each time she did the flame shifted just out of her touch.

"I don't want you to get hurt, so it reacts with my feelings." John decided it was now or never. He slowly made the flame die out. Alyce kept her both her hands on John's, like an eager little kid expecting more. He lowered his hand and came closer to Alyce's face.

"What are you doing?" She asked, not moving, her voice low and her breathing slow and evenly paced.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" John asked, smirking evilly. He noticed she had gripped his hand with hers, her fingers idly playing with his still warm fingers. "Are you nervous?" He asked quietly.

Alyce smiled, blushing. John took this as a yes. The thought of it was just cute. And it just made him want to kiss her even more. He gripped her hand and moved in closer to her. The whole moment going in slow motion, she tilted her head,and they both closed their eyes. Then his lips touched hers.

An intense feeling washed over Alyce as John kissed her. He was gentle but strong, as if he had wanted this so much. He then stopped, pulled apart from her. Alyce bit her lip and moved in, she didn't want him to stop. He took her face into his hands and pulled himself in, meeting her lips again with the same vigor and strength.

Alyce placed her hands on top of his and pulled away. She took in a deep breath. "Intense."

John chuckled quietly as he placed one last kiss on her lips. "I just kissed a monster."

"You did." For once, she didn't get mad. She figured it was because she was still recovering from the shock of being kissed. Alyce looked into John's eyes, he still held her face in his hands.

"Where's your lighter?"

He smiled taking his hands away from Alyce. He looked around for his lighter and found it had fallen on the grassy floor. He reached down to get it and looked over to Alyce, who was watching him.

"You alright?" He asked wiping away the small strands of grass and dirt that had clung to his lighter. He stuck the lighter in his hoodie pocket.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look a bit star strucked."

Alyce let out a laugh. She waved her hand. "Fuck you, John." He couldn't help but laugh as well. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed this much, or felt so...happy? He suddenly didn't like being out of his normal character. But he didn't mind it, Alyce was out of normal character as well. And it was nice to let his guard down around someone.

"Hey, that's not nice." He spoke, getting up. "_So what's going to happen now?" _He asked himself. He stuck out his hand toward Alyce and she took it, getting up and standing next to him. He wondered if she was thinking the same thing, but she was hard to figure out.

"I'm sleepy." She suddenly spoke, looking at him and giving off a tired smile.

"Yea, same."

"_At least she isn't the clingy type." _He thought, before the two started walking back to the mansion. "_And she isn't a girly-girl either." _John chuckled to himself and leaned in toward Alyce who walked beside him. He gently bumped up beside her, and she pushed back, causing the two to laugh.

For the first time he had been at the mansion, he was finally going to go to bed without being angry at the world.

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A/N: WOoo, long Chapter this one was. What do you guys think? Like it, yes, no? BTW, I changed my Icon. Guess who it is? Last night I was bored and decided to draw Alyce. All the shading was done in pencil, and let me tell you, my fingers had cramped lol. So yea. Let me know what you guys think of it. There's a link in my profile to show the whole thing. (Sorry for the quality, my scanner wouldn't scan, so I took a pic of it with my webcam)

I'm tempted to draw all the X-Team. Boy oh boy....like that's going to happen lol.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A conversation from a card to a flame.

John woke up, groggily looking up at his clock. Why was he even looking at it? He never cared for the time. He yawned as he placed his head back on his pillow, his hair covering his eyes. Judging from the fact that Bobby wasn't still sleeping, it must've been at least past noon. He rolled on his back, quickly covering his eyes.

"_Bobby forgot to close the fucking blinds."_ He growled, his plans on going back to sleep had been foiled, yet again. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and the thoughts from last night hit him. He actually kissed her. Alyce. The girl he had only known for about two weeks. Or was it less than that? Who knew?

Sitting up slowly, John wondered how exactly he was going to go about his day. How was he going to talk to Alyce without any of the others knowing something was up? This was, indeed, a dilemma. He yawned, and then made his way to the shower. Once he was more awake, he would be able to think of something.

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It hadn't helped.

John was back, sitting on his bed, still not knowing what to do. He wanted to talk to her, but he didn't want anyone to know. Why did he suddenly care so much about what the rest of the team thought? After a few minutes of thought, he just decided not to think about it anymore. If he saw her on the way he would chat.

No big deal.

Lazily, he slipped on some clothes and grabbed his lighter. He opened the door to his bedroom and walked out. _"Step 1: Get out of room. Complete."_ Now what? Food? As he made his way to the kitchen, he pondered. The way he was suddenly thinking, like he didn't know what to do, being worried about what others would say, was this really because he kissed her? He had been in his share of relationships before coming to the mansion, but nothing to an extent of what he felt now. So why now? "_I'm acting like a god damned robot." _Maybe it was because she was a mutant. Whatever_ it _was, _it_ was giving John a headache _trying_ to figure _it_ out.

Now he really wasn't trying to figure it out. He stepped into the kitchen, maneuvering his way between the other teens who had gathered to eat. He had never been up this early on a weekend, and the crowd in the kitchen was slowly putting him off from eating.

"_Mon Ami, _is up early."

John shrugged his shoulders. Seeing a clear path to the fridge, John made his way and pulled out a half gallon of milk before more kids crowded in. He placed it on the counter and looked around for a box of cereal.

"All of the breakfast _céréale _is gone_. _All the little ones got to it."

John cursed to himself and looked at the gallon of milk sourly. He decided he wasn't going to put it away, just because he didn't feel like it. But he also didn't feel like talking to Remy. John turned around and began to push his way out of the kitchen, when a hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder. And it wasn't a light grab either. John looked back, to face Remy. He smiled. "_Mon Ami_, it's not polite to ignore someone when he is talking to you."

"Yea, well, I was never really the polite type. Mind getting your hands off me, Mon Ami?" John mimicked the Cajun' Mutant the best that he could. He glared at Remy, but no matter how hard he did, he wouldn't let go. "Do you mind?" John grumbled, shrugging himself out of Remy's grip.

Now John was just itching for a fight. He hadn't remembered the last time he had beaten someone up. He flicked his lighter angrily and stood his ground. "You have a problem with me, Lebeau?"

By now, some of the younger kids who where in the kitchen had either stopped to stare, or had gotten out of the kitchen. Remy smirked and began to shuffle some playing cards. He was totally in for a nice good rough housing. But he snapped back to his senses, remembering what he had decided to find John for.

"See here, _feu_, Remy no come here to make any trouble. He just wanted to chat is all."

"What about?"

"How about we go somewhere else. The _petits bébés_, are around."

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John had deemed that what was happening was very uncomfortable. It wasn't everyday he was deciding to follow a guy to the garden of the mansion. Yea, the garden. Of all places, John pondered, that Remy could've went, he picked the garden.

John took a seat on one of the many garden chairs and waited. Remy wasn't exactly talking, but instead looking over at a bunch of flowers. John growled with annoyance. "Did you bring me here, so I can watch you pick flowers, Lebeau?"

"_S'il vous plaît, _Remy just like to look at nature every now and then. You should do it too."

"If I want to look at Nature, I can look out of my room to the trees. What did you want to talk about?"

Remy sighed. Trying to get John in engage in a nice conversation was just difficult. Didn't anyone have polite conversations anymore? "Remy wanted to talk about Alyce."

"Ok?" John sat back on the bench and fiddled with his lighter, waiting to hear what Remy was to propose. Had he seen them last night? Oh no. John rubbed his face with his hand and let out a sigh. "I'm very impatient, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"_Droit,_ Remy has noticed you've been getting a bit close to _mon cheri._"

"Your cherry?"

"Alyce. Remy noticed you've been all up in her face. You have a problem with her? You're not filling her head with all this nonsense you're known for?"

John chuckled. "Nonsense I'm known for? What the fuck, Lebeau? I think I can talk to anyone I want, and if I so happen to fill their heads up with nonsense, then, so be it."

Remy let out a throaty growl, surprising John. He wasn't expecting Remy to pull him up by his collar, either. "Remy knows your tricks, _feu_. Remy isn't a little kid. He is old enough to see."

Despite being in a rather bad situation, John decided to smart mouth. "Well, you must be a little kid, if you're placed in classes with them." As soon as the words popped out of John's mouth, he instantly regretted saying them. Remy's eyes began to glow with ferocity and his grip on John's shirt grew tighter. Remy sharply jerked John toward him.

"Remy isn't appreciating this, not one bit. Let Remy tell you this; If Remy so happens to see anything wrong with Alyce, Remy is going to blame you. And, _feu, _take this how you may, I'll make sure you can't use your hands for anything."

John smirked. But he was taking this seriously. He had never seen Remy so furious. Angry. He was always passive-aggressive, non violent. But looking into his eyes right this moment, John saw none of that. When he didn't respond, Remy pushed him back into the garden chair. Hard. John grunted grabbing his back. He wasn't about to let Remy walk away, and look like a total push over. He opened up his lighter and put his hand over the small flame.

"Hey, Lebeau." John spoke, throwing his hand out, the flame flying over toward Remy.

"_Monsieur." _ Remy laughed turning around. As quick as lighting, he had lighted up a card. The pinkish energy leaving a neon trail in the air, as it collided with John's flame. "_Feu, _ you should know better. Remy is smarter than that."

John glared as a burnt up Ace of Spades landed right in front of his feet. He stepped on the card with anger as he watched Remy walk away, picking flowers as he went. He had just been owned Remy. Of all people. "Heh..." John muttered, kicking the card with his foot. Guess he had himself another rival.

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_Feu-_Fire

_S'il vous plaît_- Please

_Droit- _Right

_Céréale- _Cereal


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Down, down the rabbit hole Alyce goes

Alyce had been awake in her bed for the past two hours. Simply thinking of how she was going to go about her day. It was a Saturday, meaning some of the teachers would be taking the kids out in groups to venture outside the Mansion. She wondered if it were the same for the X-Team. Or could they just come and go as they please? Alyce decided that laying down would be the best way to figure that out.

She loved her new room but it wasn't why she was laying down, staring up at the painted ceiling. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, it was because of what happened last night. Was John feeling the same way? He was such a hard person to read, to understand how he would react. Alyce turned on her side and covered her face with her pillow. She let out a groan the pillow muffling the sound.

"I wish, I wish, I was a fish." Alyce murmured, smiling to herself. And this brought her into a brand new idea to think of. Surely, fish didn't have to think about going about their day. They just swam. In the middle of her thinking, a loud ringing sound filled her ears. Startled, Alyce jerked up her hand and fished around for the table side telephone. She quickly pushed the pillow off her head and looked at the phone, but she had remember there was no ID caller. Deciding not to be scared to answer the phone to an unknown caller, Alyce picked up the phone.

"Umm? Hello?"

"Oh~Oh my god. Where you sleeping?"

"No...I'm awake...thi--."

"Oh, awesome you're awake. I'm feeling very bubbly today. Congrats on your new room! Sounds awesome. Any who, come downstairs when you're done getting ready. All of us are going to head out to the Westchester Mall. Bye!"

The line went dead. Alyce still in mid sentence. Who the hell was that? Alyce plopped the phone back on the base and went back to staring at the ceiling. It just had to be Kitty. For the simple fact she said "all of us" and also, for the simple reason, that it was only Kitty who would talk to her like that. Suddenly, feeling very lazy Alyce slipped out of bed plopping herself on the floor. She got up and walked her way to the bathroom, turning on the shower to get ready.

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As Alyce tied the laces to her sneakers she had realized that this was the first time she would be going to the mall with a group of friends. Whenever she did go out to the mall, it was always to grab some clothes and just leave. She never liked the idea of hanging out in a mall. Her father just told her it was because she was an old soul.

"Sure, Dad. I think I am an old soul." Alyce got up from where she sat and proceeded to the door. But she stopped and looked at the phone with a slight sadness. She hadn't heard from her Dad in ages. Well it was only really, like, a couple of days, but it felt weird when she didn't talk to him. Vowing to call her father after she got back to the mansion, Alyce opened her door and walked out to the hallway.

As she made her way to the grand stair case, Alyce had remembered she did have some money saved up. The professor held on to all the money given to the students but their parents, or if they didn't have any or where abandoned (like most of them where) the Professor gave them a weekly allowance. Where he got all the money from Alyce had no idea. But it was a nice thing to do. Then whenever they wanted to go out, their money was placed on cards and given to them. Professor Xavier really did have a big heart.

"You know, if you walk any slower, we just might leave with out you."

Alyce looked behind her to John. He kept his eyes on the floor and walked passed her. "I wouldn't think you would be the type to go to a mall."

"Right back at 'ya." John muttered, keep his pace a few steps ahead of her. "But I heard you were going. So I decided to tag a long."

Alyce smiled to herself as she watched John get further and further away from her, finally disappearing as he walked down the steps of the grand stair case. Was she supposed to say hi or kiss him? What was being in a relationship all about? Embarrassing, even to admit to her self, this was the first time she was even in one. Or was it really a relationship at all? Alyce walked down the grand stair case, her eyes spotting the X-Men group.

"Ok everyone's here. I'm going to be taking you guys to the mall. Everyone get in the car." Jean Grey smiled and shooed everyone out the front door. She jogged a few steps and caught up with Alyce. "How do you like your new room?"

Alyce looked up at Jean, a playful look on her face. "It's awesome. You know, I wanted to apologize for being such a smart ass last time."

Jean chuckled. "It's ok. I've dealt with much worse."

Alyce followed Jean to the large Hummer that was parked in front of the Mansion. "Holy shit...that's a huge...van thing." Alyce murmured over to Jean who was getting into the drivers seat. It was a pretty big hummer, obviously customized. It had to be to fit the whole team. Alyce dimly noted that it even looked like a C.I.A car. Something out of a comic book. Black windows, tinted, big wheels with silver rims. _It had rims_. Leave it to Scott Summers to pimp out his large collection of cars.

"Ok, everyone got their seat belt on?" Jean asked, receiving a couple of groans from the back seat. Alyce strapped herself in, closing the door behind her. She looked over to Kitty who was busy talking up a storm to everyone in the car. At first glance she didn't seem very talkative, but once you got to know her, she was a steam engine of language. Alyce said her greetings, but as soon as she lay her eyes on John she grew nervous. Why should she be nervous?

John looked at Alyce with a hint of playfulness in his eyes. He gave her a small smile and turned his head to look out the window. Guess that was his way of saying hello.

The car roared to a start and soon the group were on the highway, heading to the Westchester County Mall.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hey everyone~ Heads up!

In this chapter I'm going to be introducing two mutants from the comics. Avalanche and Quick Silver. There was a cartoon called X-Men Evolution that portrayed them a bit differently than the comics, but I'm not going to use that version, but I'm going to be adding my own variation.

I'm adding how Avalanche dressed from the cartoon, as well has his attitude. (Also they called him Lance Alvers, but his real name is at the beginning of the chapter.) Also, his love interest in the cartoon was Kitty Pride. It's going to be the same.

Pietro, I'm adding my own little spice, so he's different lol. But his father is still Magneto. Enjoy~

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Chapter 17: The Quick and the Rock

Dominikos Ioannis Petrakis was his full name. And he hated it. He hated his parents for naming him such a horrid name. Why couldn't they name him something nice and simple. Why couldn't they name him Avalanche? He preferred to be called that anyway. It was, after all, something he could do with his powers. Someone wanted an Earth Quake? They could have it. All they had to do was ask.

Avalanche sat across from his white haired friend, Pietro. Why did a kid, who was only 19, have a head full of white hair? Avalanche pondered on it for a second, but quickly disregarded it and went back to eating his burger. He just wanted to get back to stealing stuff.

"Yhmm Kmmhm Turrm Hmm?" Pietro spoke, his voice muffled by the fact that he was trying to talk with a full mouth.

"Chew your goddamn food." Avalanche spat out. He sipped his soda and watched in disgust as Pietro stuck out his tongue, half munched on food still on it.

"They're here." Pietro spoke, swallowing his food and washing it down with his soda. "You know, that stupid team Magento wants us to mess around with."

"Daddy's little boy, how cute." Avalanche joked around, getting a really stern glare from Pietro.

"Yea, he's my dad. So what. I could deal without him though." Pietro didn't like his father, Magneto. Avalanche had no idea why, really. He just did. You would think they would have similar powers, but in fact they didn't. Pietro was just fast. Insanely fast. Superhuman speed fast.

Avalanche stuffed his mouth with the last of the fries and cleaned his hands on his stone wash jeans. "Fuck!" Avalanche groaned, looking down at his motorcycle boots.

Pietro laughed looking at Avalanche. "Drama Queen say what?"

"My boots got scuffed. I just bought these." Avalanche growled his dismay, causing a few people who where eating at the food court to stare. He lifted his leg up on the seat and began to examine his boot.

Pietro sipped his soda quietly, watching as Avalanche sucked his teeth. "Stop acting like a little fucking girl."

"Why don't you?" Avalanche retorted.

Pietro look at Avalanche with a dismal look. "No you."

"No you......"

This could go on for hours. The two of them bickering the "No You"'s. The two were friends, an unlikely pair to say the least. Avalanche in his 80's phase of liking things. His stone wash jeans, his cut off leather jacket, the motorcycle boots, chain wallet. His messy, sometimes greasy, brown hair down to his shoulders. The listening of heavy metal music.

Pietro on the other hand was different in every single way. He kept his hair washed and well kept. His white hair always slicked back with gel. When he dressed, he dressed with fashion and it was evident. Today it was just a Dolce and Gabbana white long sleeved shirt, and dark purple leather pants. And a nice pair of purple and white sneakers. He liked to match. Right now, he was just casual. If he wanted to dress up, he could. Also, Pietro couldn't stand the string of horrible 21rst century music. For him, it was Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven that played on his iPod.

Pietro finished off his soda, shaking his hand, the solid gold watch on his arm jingling.. "So what do you want to do? Go steal something? Rob someone?"

Avalanche smirked. "Sure, why not." Though the two were different, their intentions were all the same.

The pair got up from where they sat, making their way out of the mall cafeteria. Pietro let out a smile as a group of girls walked by. He winked, and they began to giggle.

"Give it a rest, playboy."

"What? You can do it too you know. I've seen those concert trash girls look at you."

"I don't like those types. Most of them are 15, or 16 year olds trying to be rebels. It's really sad. Kind of funny."

"But you've taken advantaged of them before, don't say you haven't."

Avalanche laughed. "Hey, that's when I was 16. I'm fucking 20 years old. You trying to tell me I'm a pedophile?"

Pietro let out a howl of laughter. "Kids these days, huh. You like those older women."

"I like the females who are legal. But a nice older woman with curves--" Avalanche stopped and looked at a woman who was walking by. He nudged over to Pietro and let out a whistle to the woman. He traced out her curves with his hands. "Beautiful, you know?" He mumbled to Pietro.

The woman rolled her eyes and continued to walk. "Geez, what a bitch." Avalanche growled. "But you know, Pietro, I wouldn't mind a cute girl. Nice brown hair, brown eyes. Girl next door thing."

"Like her?" Avalanche pointed his finger over to a girl who was in a nearby clothing store. Avalanche looked as the girl laughed, picking out a shirt and showing it to her friend who laughed along with her. She was beautiful. Brown hair, eyes. She was short too, something he found cute.

"Five bucks says she won't give you the time of day." Pietro looked in his leather brand named wallet and pulled out a crisp five dollar bill.

Avalanche chuckled. "Give me a 40, and I bet I can get her in bed by the end of this weekend."

"Weekend? You sure about that?"

"Totally."

"Ok then..." Pietro laughed and pulled out two twenties from his wallet. "You'll get this when I see her back at the house."

The Brotherhood of Mutants. Located in a dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere. Always dirty, always parties going on. Well it wasn't dirty everywhere. Pietro's room was Angel clean. But other than that it was a rowdy place. Magneto or Mystique never set a foot in that house. Avalanche looked at Pietro with a dismay. "You know that house is messed up."

"I'll clean it up personally, if you bring her. You know I can have that place clean in 2 seconds."

It was true. Pietro used to clean up after every wild party. But eventually gave up after it would just get dirty an hour later.

Avalanche patted his friend on his back and began to make his way to the girl who was in the store. He watched as she began chatting with a girl who also had white in her hair. "Hey Pietro, lookit that. That girl has white in her hair too. Maybe she's your sister."

Pietro growled. "God. You know I hate my sister. Wanda is such a problem child." But then it hit him. Girl, white hair. It was her. It was one of them. Pietro placed a hand on Avalanche's shoulder, stopping him.

"Man, you're messing up my swag."

"Shut up. That girl, the one with the white hair. That's the girl my father kidnapped. That other one must be apart of the X-Men."

"Well!" Avalanche beamed. "Even more of a challenge. She'll be liking bad boys when I'm done with her. By the way, your Dad is a pedophile."

"Funny. Just watch what you say to her." Pietro sighed, massaging the bridge of his noise. "The better that they don't know who we work for, the more easier it will be to mess with them."

"Right-o, Boss."

Pietro let out another sigh and walked to a nearby bench. He watched as Avalanche made his way inside the store. How he was going to pull this off, would be interesting indeed. It was about time the Brotherhood got some fun instilled in their lives. It had been too long since a nice long commotion had happened. Pietro sneered to himself. Maybe he could woo one of the X girls, as well.

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A/N: How do you like them? ;D They'll be around for some time.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Wheww, this one is a bit long. For those of you who are wondering where Alyce is. Don't worry! She's coming right up in the next chapter :)

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Chapter 18: Kitty, are you brain dead?

Avalanche was letting this get the best of him. He was never nervous about talking to a girl before. But now, he was just plain nervous. Walking between the clothing racks, pretending to look, Avalanche looked out to see Pietro outside, chuckling.

"_Asshole.."_Avalanche thought to himself. He wasn't going to let Pietro use this against him. Taking a deep breath, Avalanche made his way to the girl. She was finally by herself, looking at a pair of jeans.

"Jeans, huh?"

Kitty Pride looked up from the pair of jeans she was looking at. She smiled. "Yea. I don't like 'em much." Kitty Pride was always up for some conversation. Whether it be with a friend or a stranger. And if they were nice enough to talk to her, why not talk back? Not unless they were perverts.

"What's wrong with them?" Avalanche pondered, taking the leg of the pants in his hand. "They look ok to me."

"Well..." Kitty turned the jeans around and chuckled. "The design on the back is just asking for attention. I don't like attention wearing outfits. I like it nice and simple." Kitty placed the jeans back on the rack. She eyed a couple more. "What are you doing in a girl's clothing store?" She asked, not looking up from the jean rack. She was determined to find a new pair that she could wear.

Avalanche chuckled, feeling nervous. He scratched his head. "Well you see. I saw you outside, looking a bit in trouble with these jeans. Thought I might help."

Kitty giggled, looking up at the tall guy who was talking to her. He was tall. Maybe 6 on the dot. She suddenly felt very short. Well, she was very short. "My name's Kitty. I'm here with my friends." She looked around the store and sighed. "I don't know where they're at now. Around somewhere. What's your name?"

"Heh, You can call me Avalanche. Think of it as a weird nick name." This girl was extremely to carefree. If he didn't know any better, Avalanche thought he was suffering from a good culture shock. All the girls he had encountered where always stuck up, snobby, bitches. But this girl, talked as if she knew him for ages.

"Avalanche." Kitty spoke, looking as if she was thinking. "That's a pretty cool nickname." Kitty stuck out her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Avalanche stuck out his gloved hand. "The pleasure is all mine Ms. Pride."

"Kitty is fine. No formalities."

"Sure. So do you mind if I accompany you? Seeing as how your friends are busy with other things?

Kitty thought about it. This Avalanche guy seemed like a nice guy. A little to grungy for her taste, but she wasn't exactly picky. She just liked having friends, was all. "Sure! As long as you're not one of those perverts." Maybe she was so nice to strangers, was because she would walk threw a wall if something bad started to happen. That had to be it.

Avalanche placed his hand over his heart, his face looking sad. "I'm hurt. Do I look like a pervert? I'm just a rocker guy taking interest in the goody two shoes of a girl."

"Goody two shoes? Please." Kitty giggled at his reaction. He was pretty funny too.

"Well, since this series of events went better than expected, how about I treat ya to something. Let's go get ice cream."

"Ummm...what do you mean by 'better than expected'?" Kitty watched as Avalanche began to walk out the store, stopping to hold the door for her. And surprisingly, she found herself following.

"Well, most girls I encounter and try to be nice too, shun me off. They think I'm a huge creep. I really am a nice genuine guy."

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Pietro erupted into laughter. He had heard what Avalanche just said, and that, was just pure comedy gold. Pietro looked at his iPhone, pretending to be watching a movie. He looked as Avalanche and the girl walked to the food court. He was even feeling a bit sorry for the girl. By Sunday, she would be wondering why Avalanche wouldn't call her. She would probably leave tons of messages, crying. Who knew?

Wiping away a tear from his eye, Pietro got up and made his way to the food court. He had to see how this was going to play out. He took in a deep breath. He just had to make sure he wouldn't erupt into any more random laughter. But it was, really really really hilarious. This had to be the best acting he had seen Avalanche do. Walking casually to the concession stand, he stood a few feet away from Avalanche, continuing to listen to the conversation unfold.

"What's your favourite flavour?" Avalanche asked looking at the rows and rows of ice cream.

"I'm a chocolate chip cookie dough girl myself. You?"

"Me? Hmm. You know I never put thought into having a favourite flavour. I think I'll try yours. Cone or Cup?"

"I'll get myself a Cone, I'll pay for my own."

"Whoa, hey hey." Avalanche placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder. She seemed a bit surprised at the gesture. Avalanche raised his eyebrow and looked at her. "I asked you to come for ice cream. So I'm treating, ok? Don't worry about it."

"But...aww c'mon. I don't want to feel like a gold digger."

"It's just ice cream, Kitty." Saying her name made him feel a bit weird. He smiled to himself. "So you want cone? No problem. Go grab a seat."

"Alright." Kitty looked on uneasily as Avalanche ordered the ice cream. Why was this guy being so nice? He must like her, or maybe he really was a pervert. Maybe he had the intention of trying to get her in bed. But it was ice cream. And he was being awfully nice. Kitty found a table and sat down. She looked outside the little shop to see if she would see Rogue or Jubilee. Alyce had disappeared as soon as she stepped into the mall. "_I wonder where she went."_ Kitty wandered.

"Hey, don't look so deep in thought. Here ya go."

"Thanks!" Kitty beamed. She took the cone from Avalanche's hand. "Taste it, see if you like it."

Kitty watched as he looked at the cone with a bit of uneasiness. "This shit won't get me sick right? I mean, it's uncooked cookie dough."

Kitty laughed. "No no. I eat this all the time. It's awesome, trust me. If you get sick you can come kill me yourself."

"Ha! I'll take your word." Carefully, Avalanche took a bite out of the ice cream, chewing the chunky confection.

"Good, huh?"

"Hmmm. Yah." Avalanche puckered up his face. "Brain Freeze, ugh."

Kitty decided that now would be the time to bring up conversation. To get to know this mysterious rocker guy a bit more. "So, do you go to school?"

"Me?" He looked a bit surprised at the question. He let out a chuckle before biting into the ice cream cone. "I graduated High School, and that's enough for me."

"Oh, already?"

"Yea, what? Do I look like I belong in high school?"

"You look young."

"I am." Avalanche laughed. "You think I'm like, what 30 years old? Hitting on a, what, 18-19 year old?"

"Actually....I'm only 12."

Avalanche's face grew stark pale. He looked at Kitty with a slight distaste. "You're kidding." He looked at her intently. Was he really a pedophile? What the fuck? He continued to look at Kitty. Her face beginning to get red. She let out a slow smile and began to giggle.

"I'm joking." She laughed. "Swear, I'm 18."

"Oh, god. Don't do that to a poor guy." Avalanche placed his head on the table and let out a strong sigh. "You took off 10 years from my life."

She chuckled. "How old are you?"

"20."

"Ohh that's old."

"Pshh please. I'm only two years older than you. So when do you have to leave here? I'm having to much fun talking to you, to let you go so soon."

Kitty blushed. "Well, I don't know. When I get a call on my phone I suppose. For now we can hang."

"Awesome. Hey, you know. What if you have to go, in like, two seconds? Poof, I'll never see Kitty Pride ever again. I may be coming off as a weirdo now, but, could I get your phone number? Maybe we can hang out another time, if you have to go?"

Kitty was unsure. Should she? He was pretty nice. And so far no creepy stuff. Why not? "Sure! Let me get your number, then I'll call you from my phone now so you can get my number."

"Okay Dokay."

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The milk shake that Pietro had been drinking was almost done. Dominikos really had this girl eating out his hand. He looked at his milkshake. Did it really take ice cream to win a girl's heart over so easily? He was always one for smooth words, sweet compliments. Maybe buying the girl something. But Avalanche was going all out. He laughed to himself, continuing to look on as Avalanche and the girl giggled together.

A pang of jealousy washed over him. He could get a girl too if he wanted. He could go get one right now. Give him 10 minutes and he'll have her eating out of his hand too. "_Tsch, whatever. You're still going to loose the bet."_

He probably was going to loose. The girl seemed way to modest. She was possibly still a virgin. Meh, it didn't matter. A game was a game. Pietro watched as the girl dug threw her bag, distracted. Avalanche stretched, looking back at Pietro and giving him a thumbs up. In return, Pietro gave him the finger.

He needed to hurry up. Pietro wanted to get to messing with the X-Men even more. It had been a while since he used his powers for some good ol' mischief. He placed his headphones on and chose Chopin's 'Fantasie Impromptu'. He turned up the volume to max and sat back in his seat, sipping on his milkshake. He closed his eyes and moved his fingers along to the piano that played.

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A/N: Ok guys! Just wanted to say (again) How much I appreciate you guys taking time out to read, and review. A big thanks for everyone! You too Leah, your signature words are encouraging lol. :)


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Bonny And Clyde.

Alyce looked around the small gaming store. She had picked up a few games, thinking more of buying them for her father than herself. But she didn't need to buy any of these things. She could just look at it, and make it. She sighed, putting back a copy of Gears of War 2.

"That game is pretty good."

"It is. I played it with my Dad."

Alyce smiled as John nudged her with his elbow. "Just make a copy of it." He whispered, leaning in close to her ear. She giggled. "No, it's ok." She walked off to another part of the store, feeling as if she would get caught doing something bad, maybe just being with John was what gave her that feeling.

The people in the store were beginning to look at them a bit strangely. A few workers had even begun following them throughout the store. They looked so obvious.

"You know, I'm sorry about ignoring you like that when we got here. I don't want any of the others to know."

Alyce laughed. "It's ok. I figured something like that. I kinda don't want the others to know either. But you apologizing? Is that a first?"

John growled. "It is. Now take it or leave it."

"I'll take it." Alyce looked around, catching the eye of the manager who had been called out by one of the pimple faced employees. She made her way to John who had walked off to another part of the store, this time looking at action figures. She bumped into him and smiled. "You know, we have some owls watching us."

"Yea, I know. They're scared of the muties."

"They know we're mutants?"

"No, but in a few minutes they will." John angrily grabbed a figure of a weird superhero. Alyce looked at the box with curiosity. The figure inside was of a man wearing a yellow and blue suit with claws attached to his arms. His name? "The Badger." Alyce giggled. "That's kinda tacky."

"I'm not going to buy this shit. I just want to stir up some trouble." Quickly, John grabbed Alyce's hand. "C'mon let's go to the front."

"Welcome to GoGames."

"Yea yea. This shit of store." John angrily threw the action figure on the table counter. "How much for this?"

The clerk gulped and scanned the item. "5.99." He mumbled.

"What?" John questioned, taking his lighter out of his pocket. "You should speak up. You homo-sapiens don't know how to talk correctly."

Alyce bit her lip. John really was a trouble maker. She let go of his hand and looked at him. "_Having fun?"_ Her look read.

"_Totally."_ His eyes beamed like a kid in a candy store and he shot her a devilish look. When she looked back at the employee his face had gone strictly pale.

"It's....f-f-five ninety nine." He spoke again, his head down. The other employee's began to back away from the counter, after hearing John's words. John tapped his fingers on the box and sighed. "Hey, you think this guy, this action figure, is scary?"

"Y-y-yes."

"You think so? It's fake. Not real. It would be even more scarier to meet a bad guy in real life."

Alyce looked toward the manager with a stern glare. He quickly hung up his phone. Was he calling the cops? A SWAT team maybe? John was practically giving away the face that they were mutants. If they didn't catch on, they were surely stupid.

John chuckled, and lit his lighter. "You know, I think I don't want this anymore. This store is so crappy. I can't even shop here with my girlfriend without you guys thinking we're going to steal."

That sounded weird. Alyce scrunched up her face and let out a low laugh. She scratched her forehead, keeping her head down. True, what John was doing was a bit mean. Maybe even uncalled for. It _was_ uncalled for. But it was funny. To be so feared. She looked up to see a female employee fixing a row of games, looking wearily at the front.

They looked the same. As humans, not in features. Eyes, nose, ears, legs, hands, arms. But what made them different, what made them fear her and John, was that fact that they were mutants. They could do things that they had only dreamed up in their minds.

John leaned into Alyce and whispered in her ear. "I'm going to make some flames. Ever sprinted across a mall?"

"Wha-?" Before Alyce could finish, John slammed his hand on the figurine, the box erupting in flames. The girl employee screamed, and the kid behind the counter scrambled for the fire extinguisher. John quickly grabbed Alyce's hand and the two zoomed out of the store.

John ran as fast as he could dragging Alyce along, her laughter filling the air. He twisted and turned throughout the mall and finally, after what seemed like ever, ducked into the nearest door.

Alyce caught her breath, looking up at John who was laughing.

"That was awesome. Did you see their faces?!" John stumbled to a sink and looked into the mirror. It wasn't until Alyce noticed the urinals that she realized she was in a men's bathroom. At least it was empty.

Alyce rolled her eyes and turned on one of the faucets, she gathered some water in her hands and took a gulp. "You're crazy." She chuckled.

"I know. But you're laughing."

Alyce smiled. She didn't know why she laughing. Or why she enjoyed that so much. Her Father and Mother kept her shielded from evil things. Evil things that she can do with her powers. To see John doing as he wanted with his, made her a bit jealous. But it was that, that is why she enjoyed it. She liked seeing the other side of what could be done with their powers. Slowly but surely, John was influencing Alyce in ways she thought she could never be.

"It's good to have a partner in crime." He laughed leaning on the sink. He looked over to Alyce and winked. He walked over in front of her and leaned on her, her back touching the edge of the sink. He placed his hands over hers and placed a kiss on her lips. "You can be Robin."

"Why do you have to be Batman?" Alyce huffed, in between kisses.

"Cause I said so..."

Being bad was a good feeling for Alyce. And making out in a men's bathroom was being bad. At least for her. Someone could walk in at anytime and catch them. What would happen? Probably John setting them on fire. Suddenly, Alyce understood why the Professor tried his best to install good habits. Because once you were bad once, the feeling was addicting. The feeling that you could get away with anything, just because you weren't human.

You were a mutant.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey would you look at that! A two for one special! Enjoy the chapters!

Also, LuthanxIsxSmexy, hope you like the small drama. No one getting burned, but still drama nonetheless! :D

Everyone, Enjoy!

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Chapter 20: Running into the White Dash.

Alyce had decided waiting outside of the bathroom would be best. She didn't exactly want to see John taking a leak. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and began to idly walk away from the bathroom door. She had just gotten a weird look from a rather old man, she didn't want to give them any ideas.

She flipped up her hood and smiled to herself as she walked. She was actually pretty happy today. Another rare occasion. Looking down at her converse, she bit her lip. Was she really in love? Like real love? Or was it puppy love? She kicked at the floor and continued to walk. John was taking forever in the bathroom and she didn't want to know why.

"Hey! Alyce!"

Alyce looked up to see Kitty. She squinted her eyes. Was she going blind? Two strange guys were walking with her. Who where they? Alyce raised her hand. "Kitty. What's up?"

Kitty smiled and mentioned something to the two that stood next to her. "Alyce come over, I want to introduce you."

"_Uh, oh._" Alyce thought. She wasn't too good at introductions. Shyly, Alyce walked up to Kitty. If only her hair was able to hide her blushing red cheeks.

"Guys-" Kitty beamed, going over to Alyce and looping her arm with Alyce's. "This is Alyce. She goes to school with me."

Alyce looked up cautiously, trying hard not to catch the guys of the two who stood in front of her. She waved slightly. Kitty tugged on her arm.

"Awww, she's shy. Any who, Alyce this is Avalanche and he's Pietro."

"_What kind of a name is Avalanche?"_ Alyce thought. She looked over to Kitty and gave a meek smile. "Do you know when it's time to leave? John and I have been wondering around."

"Oh, John's with you? Where is he?"

Alyce bit her lip. Kitty must want to introduce John. How that was going to turn out was just a given. John wasn't much of a people person. "I think he's in the bathroom."

"Oh wow. I'm going to wait outside, and give him hell for making you wait."

"Ahh...Be careful, there's creepy old men..." Alyce called off to Kitty who skipped over to the bathroom area. And now, Alyce was left alone with the two strangers Kitty so happen to meet.

"So, you go to school with Kitty? Must be fun with her around."

Alyce looked over to the voice. "_What was his name? Oh yea, Avalanche."_ She liked his style. She glanced over to Pietro, who was busy looking at his iPhone. "Yea, Kitty's pretty cool. Social Butterfly, right there."

Avalanche let out a laugh. "She is!" He nudged Pietro. "Isn't she."

"Yea, she sure is."

"What are you listening too?" Alyce spoke. She figured the only reason why she was trying to converse with them, was because they were Kitty's friends. She just wanted to be nice. She looked over to Pietro, noticing his white hair. White hair? He looked pretty young to be having white hair. Maybe it was dyed. Pietro looked up to Alyce with a dim look. "I don't think you would know anything about it."

"_Jerk."_ Alyce thought. "Well, let's hear. I might know." She looked over to Avalanche who let out another heart warming chuckle.

"Pietro has weird taste in music. Old classical shit."

"I love classical music." Alyce murmured, trying her best to seem like the conversation type. "My mother plays piano. She's been in a few concerts too."

Pietro seemed to lighten up. Guess it was true, when they say music was a bridge to friendship. He looked at Alyce wearily. "So you know...Chopin?"

"Mmmhmm." Alyce muttered, looking back over to see if Kitty had gotten John. But still no sight of them. "I like all kinds of music, really."

Pietro smiled. Guess he found himself one of the X girls to mess around with. "Maybe I can take you to a concerto one day?"

Alyce looked at Pietro. This guy had playboy written all over him. She simply gave a thumbs up, not saying anything. She knew how these types of guys worked. Her Dad had told her all these stories of him 'Back in the Day.'

She looked over at Avalanche who was busy fixing a button on his leather vest. Was he the same way? If he was, she was going to have to warn Kitty. Alyce stood quiet, turning her back on the pair, wondering where Kitty was. Or better yet, why was John taking so long?

"Your friend is sure taking long in the bathroom. Did he have an upset stomach?" Pietro decided this girl was fair game. She was cute, she looked nice. She liked classical music. Finding a girl who did was a rare thing. Time to put on his smooth voice.

"No, he didn't. But I'm thinking maybe now he does."

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John gripped his hand in anger. Something was wrong. He was getting ready to leave the bathroom, when the lighter in his hand burst into flames. Something like that had never happened before. It practically blew up. John looked at his hand again, it was a deep red from where the lighter had exploded. He decided running his hand under cold water would be the best thing, and he had been doing so for the past couple of minutes.

But his hand still hurt. It was hot to the touch. Was this a secondary mutation? He never before had his powers go out of control. So why now? A loud bang on the door got his attention.

"John! It's me Kitty! Hurry and come out!"

John let out a deep throaty growl. Of all people, Kitty Pride. She could talk so much. John took his hand out from the cold water and winced. Maybe Alyce could make an ice-pack. He dried off his hand and looked at the mirror to make sure he looked fine and opened the door.

"There you are! What happened? Ate something bad?"

"No." John glared. "Where's Alyce?"

Kitty huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was worried you know, Alyce is over there."

John let out a sigh, the pain in his hand increasing by the minute. He looked over to see Alyce. Alyce and some punk white haired kid talking to her. And he was looking a bit too friendly.

"Who the fuck are they?" John mumbled, jerking his chin in the direction of Avalanche and Pietro.

"Avalanche and Pietro. I met them a while ago. I introduced them to Alyce. You want to go say hi?"

John wanted to say no. But he had to go get Alyce. Especially if that white haired kid was talking to her. Without answering Kitty, John made his way toward Alyce, he clutched his hand as he did. The pain was just getting more worse.

"Oh, is that your friend?" Pietro smiled, looking over to John. _"This guy must like her or something."_ The first thing Pietro noticed was how irritated this guy looked. Pietro smiled to himself, he just loved being the guy that he was. Maybe a bit of an asshole. But still fun.

Alyce looked over to John. What was wrong with him? Immediately, she made her way toward him. "Are you ok?" She mumbled. She touched John's hand, quickly jerking it back. "They're hot."

"I know. My lighter blew up. I don't know why." John exhaled sharply looking down at Alyce. He looked over to Pietro who smirked over to him, then began talking to Kitty.

"Hold still...You need an ice pack." Alyce looked back toward Kitty and her friends. She didn't need them finding out she was a mutant. Alyce clasped her hands together. "Open your hands John." He did so, and sighed in relief as a cold ice pack was dropped into his hands.

"You're a fucking life saver."

"Thanks." Alyce smiled. She took off her hood looking up at John. "Ready to go?"

"No, whose that punk ass white haired asshole?"

Alyce chuckled. "Some kid Kitty met at the mall, along with his other friend. Pietro and Avalanche."

"Heh...whatever." John nudged at Alyce and the pair walked back over to Kitty who was still talking. She sure could keep people busy, but it seemed Avalanche was enjoying it. More over than Pietro, who had retreated back to playing with his iPod.

"Oh, you guys are back." Pietro gave a charming smile. "My name is Pietro." He pulled out his headphones and stuck out a hand toward John. John looked at it and huffed.

"Right..."

"_Ok, then. Two can play at that game then."_ Pietro thought. "Hey, something happened to your hand? I didn't see the ice pack there, until a few seconds ago."

"It was in my pocket."

"Kinda small for an icepack...kind of like it came from no where." Pietro shot a glance at Alyce and smiled. Everyone grew quiet. Pietro knew well enough that they were all mutants. But they had no idea that him and Avalanche were just the same.

"Why don't you mind your own goddamn business?" John spat, taking a step forward. Alyce placed a hand on John's chest. By now Avalanche had caught wind of what was happening. Why did Pietro have to start his shit now? All he really wanted to do was just talk to Kitty. But he had to go and defend his friend. The two of them were always getting into fights. Pietro being the ultimate shit talker, when he wanted to be.

"Hey, you got a problem with my friend?" Avalanche raised his voice as he took his place next to Pietro.

"I do." John raged. "You should tell him to mind his own shit."

"Hey! C'mon, guys!" Kitty wailed. "Let's just all be nice." She shot a glance over to Alyce. Guess she had to play the girly role too. Always a first time for everything.

"Yea...." Alyce muttered. O.k, so being a girl wasn't exactly something she was good at.

Pietro smiled. Making trouble was just too fun. "Lookit that, this guy here has two girls protecting him. What would happen if I take this one here, and just run away with her?" He looked over to Avalanche, who knew fully well what he meant by 'run away'.

Avalanche smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who knows? He doesn't look like he can run so fast."

By now, everyone was just confused. What where they talking about. And as much as Avalanche didn't want to get into this, he had too. It was what they came here for. He looked over to Kitty and shrugged, giving her an apologetic smile.

"How about...you go fuck yourself?" John growled, he reached into his pocket. But his lighter...right, it blew up in his hand. He couldn't talk if he didn't have his powers. He bit his lip and poked Alyce's back.

"No one needs to run away you know." Alyce spoke softly. "Everyone just needs to calm down a bit." She turned to John and smiled, placing something in his hands. "Don't use it for trouble." She whispered to him.

"Everyone is calm, except for him." Avalanche rolled his eyes.

"Indeed, so." Pietro sighed. "Alyce was it?"

"Yea?"

"You shouldn't be around people who have such a fiery temper. It isn't good, you know." Pietro had his mission now. Get this girl away from this guy as soon as he could. Add some conflict into their lives.

Kitty nervously took out her cellphone from her bag looking at it with a dismay. "Alyce, we have to go. Jean sent a text." She looked up at Avalanche, her face twisting in sadness. "Gotta go, Avalanche." She murmured.

Avalanche took a step toward her and enveloped her in a big hug. "Don't look so sad." He bent over to reach her height and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'll call you later on. Maybe we can go to a movie."

Kitty smiled, her face filled back up with happiness. "Sure!"

John, however wasn't so happy. He pushed his way past Pietro, leaving Alyce and making his way to the parking lot where Jean would be. "_White haired asshole."_ He had gotten to John so well, that if it wasn't for Alyce he would've threw a big fireball right in his pretty boy face.

Pietro looked over to Alyce. "Leaving such a pretty girl by herself. If he didn't have you in his grip, I would pick you up and take you home."

Alyce kept shut. Keeping her head down she gave in when Kitty dragged her by her arm. She looked over her shoulder and caught Pietro's eye. He gave her a big smile and waved. Without thinking, she waved as well.

"You know, Pietro is so cute and nice. You should go for him instead of John, he's such a troublemaker!"

Alyce looked down to Kitty, who still had her arm linked with Alyce's. Kitty continued to ramble. But Pietro seemed like a troublemaker himself as well. And what did he mean by running away with her, earlier?

Could it be?

Could it be that those two were Mutants? Just like them?

Alyce quickly stopped and turned her head back. But Pietro and Avalanche were no where to be found. Only bathrooms on this floor, and a few small shops with see threw glass windows. Where could they have gone so quickly?

"C'mon, Alyce. Jean is waiting..."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry about the delay. My nephew had a birthday party, and I wasn't going to miss that for the world lol. I'm back home now, from a two hour bus ride, lol. I made this chapter long to make up for the day wait. A bit of a forewarning, I'm going to be spending a few weeks with my brother in PA, so I won't be able to write. Tomorrow, I'll post another chapter, and then maybe tuesday before I go. Just letting you guys know. I'm not adandoning this! Enjoy!

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Chapter 21: A rather long return

About 15 minutes into the ride back to the mansion, Alyce had began to think. Pietro and Avalanche. They had to be mutants. Or maybe it was just an idea Alyce was coming up with to understand why Pietro had white hair. It was frustrating.

The car was eerily quiet, no one spoke. Jean had the music on low and the only thing other than that to be heard was Kitty's faster-than-light texting skills. Who she was texting no one else knew, but Alyce sure as hell did. Every five seconds Kitty would blush and chuckle to herself, nudging Alyce and showing her the texts. This ride was going to be long.

John seemed to still be angry. His ice pack had long since melted, and he refused to have Bobby freeze it over again. He looked outside the car window and clenched his jaw. If his hand was still hurting, Alyce had no idea. He didn't look like he was in any pain. Everyone else had just fallen asleep in the car. Remy being the first one, his belly full of cheeseburgers and fries from the food court.

"So, you guys had fun?" Jean finally asked, looking into the mirror.

Alyce stood quiet. She was busy still trying to come up with a reason as to why a teenager has stark white hair. By now, she was convinced that it wasn't hair dye.

"It was awesome." Rogue spoke up. "A bit crowded."

"Of course, Saturday's, that mall is always packed." Jean commented, smiling.

And the ride went back to silence. But Kitty was still texting. She nudged Alyce once again.

"Look." She beamed, shoving the pink cellphone in front of Alyce's face.

Alyce grabbed Kitty's hand and steadied the phone. She squinted her eyes and read;

"_**lol, yea it was fun meeting you. Hey, movies tonight? I'll come get you. Ask your friend if she wants to come, Alyce was it? Pietro wants her to come."**_

Alyce huffed. It was written out without using any sort of text speak. Alyce was surprised. In fact it was the first thing she thought about. She looked at Kitty and smiled, letting go of her hand.

"Coming?" Kitty whispered, looking over to John.

"Ahh, I don't know."

"C'mon!"

John turned his head in the direction of Kitty's loud voice. He rubbed his forehead and tried to figure out what was going on. But girls these days. They all spoke in code. It was like being in the first grade all over again.

Remy still slept. It had been long since decided between the team, that he could, indeed, sleep through anything. He mumbled something in his sleep and re positioned him self to lay his head on Jubilee's lap. Alyce took a breath and shook her head to Kitty, who was still pleading and begging.

"C'mon, you can be, like, my guardian."

Alyce stood quiet, catching John's eyes.

"_Kitty is a little pest."_ His tired eyes spoke. He looked over to Kitty and rolled his eyes, making a cut throat motion. A small smile plastered itself on Alyce's lips. She winked at John. "_She's a friend though."_

John rolled his eyes and leaned his head back on the window. Kitty, seeing she was getting no where in her attempts to persuade Alyce decided to take it up a notch. ", is it ok if I go to the movies tonight with a friend outside the mansion? Alyce can come to keep me company?"

"Sure. As long as you guys are home before 11, even though it's the weekend."

Kitty smiled and looked back at Alyce. "We're going to catch a ride with my friends. Is that alright?"

Jean agreed. And Alyce just sat back in her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest, like an angry 4 year old. She looked over at Kitty, who just smiled and went back to her texting. The car began to slow as Jean pulled into a gas station.

"Anyone want anything?" Jean asked. She looked back and gave a firm poke to Remy's leg.

"_Ce qui est cela!" _He shouted. Jubilee laughed and placed a hand on his leg. "Do you want anything from the gas station?" She cooed into his ear, her hands playing with his hair. Remy yawned and laid back down on Jubilee's lap. "All Remy wants is SLEEP!"

Alyce looked over to Remy and Jubilee, and smiled. They where so nice together, when Jubilee wasn't being a bitch. She should be nice more often. Without saying anything, John opened up the car door and got up, stretching his legs.

"Hey, Alyce. Is John alright?"

Alyce looked over to Bobby. Why should he care if he was alright? He didn't even like John. "I don't know." She spoke, getting out of the car as well. Why did he even have to ask her? Alyce groaned. She hoped it wasn't Kitty who blurted out the information. Alyce made her way behind the car, and poked John.

"How's your hands?" She asked. John closed the door to the car. He looked at his hands and massaged his palms together. "They're fine.....not on fire anymore."

"That's good." Alyce answered. She took a look around the gas station, cars pulling in and out. Her eyes locked on to a sleek dark purple car. It looked too expensive to be in a normal looking gas station.

"I'm going to get something. You want anything?"

"No, thanks." Alyce murmured, still looking at the car. John stood next to Alyce, bending over to match her height to see what she was looking at. "That's a 2009 Dodge Viper." He whispered into her ear. He wanted so bad to just hug her and kiss her, but not with the others in the car. He moved a bit away from her, as Bobby and Rogue got out of the car.

"That car is pretty nice looking." Alyce mused. "I should make it for my Dad for Father's Day."

John chuckled quietly. "I'm going inside." Alyce nodded, watching as John walked off to the convince store. She wished she could show him affection, like Jubilee did to Remy. But he had wanted to make sure their relationship was under wraps. Was it even a relationship? He hadn't asked to be her boyfriend. "_I'm thinking like a girl...ugh."_Alyce thought.

"Alyce! Let's go!"

"What?"

Kitty appeared next to her. Did she phase threw the car? She smiled and pointed. Alyce followed her finger. The Viper lay in view. "Ok...it's a nice car. What? Do you want to ask about it?"

Kitty let out a giggle. "Noooo. Avalanche and Pietro are there. Look, see? Let's go." Kitty pulled on Alyce's sweater. Alyce grumbled, she was acting like a little kid, it was getting annoying. She looked back toward the car, Pietro coming out of the drivers seat and waving.

"We have to tell Jean."

"It's ok. I just texted her phone." Without waiting for a response, Kitty began to drag Alyce to the car. Alyce dug her sneakers into the ground as hard as she could, but Kitty was still able to pull her. She didn't want John to see her going to this guy's car. He would be pissed if he saw who was driving it. She was still trying to stop, when another hand grabbed onto her other arm, and this time she really stopped. Kitty jerked back and spun around.

"Where are you going? Hopefully not toward that car." John pulled Alyce close.

Alyce bit her lip. John acting more like a dominating husband, rather than a...boyfriend? Before she could answer a strong breeze flew by.

"She is making her way towards my car. Is that a problem?"

Alyce looked back to see Pietro. He looked at Alyce and smiled. "C'mon. Kitty is scared we might kidnap her."

"She's not going. Kitty can go by herself." John's grip on Alyce's arm grew tighter. He wasn't about to let the girl he liked get into someone else's car. Another guy's car. He wasn't going to loose the thing that made his life have purpose. Sure as hell not going to loose it to a white haired punk.

"What are you, her boyfriend? You sound like a dominating ass-hole."

"_Here we go."_ Alyce though. John letting the anger get the best of him, and Pietro setting himself off as a white knight. She gently moved her arm out of John's hard grip. "John..." She murmured.

"She's not going....so fuck off."

Pietro let out a laugh. "I think she is going. She has to watch over Kitty, or she might get eaten by two big bad wolves."

He was right. Alyce needed to watch over Kitty. Like a little sister. If Pietro was the play boy, Avalanche must be the same. "Jean is expecting me to go with her."

"Just go back to the car. C'mon." John grabbed Alyce's arm once again, pulling on it.

Alyce could understand he was jealous. She could understand Pietro was being a bit of an ass. But she had to go with Kitty to keep her safe. And just because she had shared a few kisses with John, didn't mean he could control her.

Clenching her teeth, Alyce pulled her arm back from John's grip. He spun around, surprised.

"I have to go to watch Kitty." Alyce spoke. Her Dad had taught her to be strong. Not to let anyone take control of her. And that was what she was doing. Boyfriend or not. John stared at Alyce, his eyes glazed over with anger.

"Don't worry...." Alyce murmured. She looked up at John, but she could tell his mind was far off in anger.

"Heh, I'm not going to have sex with her. Calm down." Pietro sneered. He walked up in front of Alyce and stood still. He locked his eyes with John.

"She's coming with me." John growled. He was getting read to grab Pietro by his collar when he suddenly stopped.

"Oh, hello. You must be the friends Kitty was speaking off." Jean placed a hand on John's shoulder, pushing him back. "Go back to the car." She whispered to John. His eyes glazed over and he nodded, turning around and making his way back to the car. It didn't take a genius to know she she did. Jean smiled and faced Pietro.

Pietro knew about this woman. And he made sure she couldn't read his mind. He smiled and stuck out his hand. "My name is Pietro. I'm going to be driving the young ladies to the movies with my friend Dominikos. Is that alright?"

"Sure." Jean smiled. As much as she didn't want to pry in this young man's mind, she felt like she needed too. But she decided against it. "Have them home before 11."

"No problem." Pietro smiled again and shook Jean's hand. She waved them off and left.

"Well, shall we go?" He asked, turning back over to Alyce who was silent during the whole ordeal. "That guy, sure is weird."

Alyce snapped back to reality. "I'm sorry about him. I don't know what's wrong with him."

"Well, he isn't your boyfriend. Even if he was, he shouldn't be grabbing on you."

Alyce mumbled her agreement, looking as the X-Jeep pulled out of the gas station.

"You must've put a spell on him with your kisses, or something...."

Alyce didn't respond, she let Pietro guide her to the car. "Avalanche, sit in the fucking back."

"The fuck, man! You sit in the back. I was going to drive."

Pietro smiled at Kitty who sat in the passenger seat. "Letting him drive, is asking for a collision. He's getting too excited, a pretty lady like yourself sitting next to him."

Kitty giggled and moved to the back, Avalanche growling and following. Pietro held open the passenger door, he placed a hand on Alyce's shoulder. "Don't worry about him. If he's going to be mad, then let him be. He'll blow off some stream. Let's just have fun."

"Yea, you're right. Sorry."

"No apologies. Just fun."

Alyce gave in and sat in the passenger seat. Avalanche patted her shoulder, saying hello. Each passing second, Alyce felt her defensive wall crumbling. Pietro had a way with words, and emotions. Maybe that was his power? But she felt at ease being around him. She snapped back, when Pietro closed his door. He turned on the keys to his car, roaring the engine.

"Ok, ladies. Buckle in!"

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

_**Ce qui est cela**__-_What do you want!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 21: Hold Your Colours

Halfway during the movie Alyce left the theater. There was only so much romance she could take, and a 2 hour long movie was just too much. She had deemed Avalanche a good guy. Well, you could tell he was into some sort of trouble, but the way he acted around Kitty, Alyce could just tell she would be ok.

Alyce walked around the theater, stopping to sit at a nearby bench. She yawned and watched as people scrambled around the theater to catch their movie. A few little kids ran out of the bathroom, toys in their hands. What movie were they seeing?

A cool breeze blew past Alyce. They must have the AC up. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. It was still early, but she was just so tired.

"You sitting here, looking at kids come out of the bathroom, you look like a pedophile." Pietro sat down next to Alyce. "I couldn't stand the movie either. Dominikos is sitting through it with the hopes of kissing Kitty."

Alyce chuckled. "We should be able to tell if he managed to do so, if she comes out of the theater blushing."

"Yea." Pietro laughed. "So you're not a fan of romance?"

"I can stand them. But that one was just...I don't know. Just, not cool for me."

Pietro nodded and sat back. "Are you hungry?"

"Nope..."

Silence fell over the two. Alyce not wanting to converse, and Pietro trying to figure something out to talk about. Pietro rubbed his palms on his pants and let out a sigh. "How long do you think that movie might be?"

"Running time is 2 hours. I left after about an hour."

Pietro bit his lip. He looked over to Alyce and smiled. How could he go about playing his little game with her? She was obviously not the usual stupid girls, unlike Kitty. Alyce was going to be a challenge.

"What are you smiling at?" Alyce asked, not looking at him. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, folding it and making a triangle.

"I'm smiling at you. When are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" She folded the paper once again, making an even smaller triangle.

"I don't want to blurt it out here. Or even talk about it here. It might risk your safety."

Alyce let out a laugh and held out the small paper triangle in her palm. She flicked it across the lobby and looked at Pietro. "I can take care of myself pretty well." Something was fishy. The way Pietro was looking at her, like he knew something she didn't. She was ready for anything though. If he was going to make a move and do something out of the ordinary, she could handle it.

"I know what you are, Alyce. I know what Kitty is."

Alyce froze for a second. Did he mean, Mutants? Alyce looked to Pietro. "I know what you are too. I know what Avalanche is, as well." She was bluffing her heart out at this part. But she hoped Pietro wouldn't notice. He looked taken aback for a second.

"Really now?" He asked. "How did you find out?"

Alyce shrugged. "The point is, if you guys are going to start acting stupid with Kitty, we're leaving."

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell just by looking at you that you're a troublemaker. Avalanche as well. But I can tell he genuinely likes Kitty. You, however, you just like to mess with people's lives." As strong as Alyce was, this had to be the first time she called someone out like this.

Pietro let out an amused huff. "I'm not going to lie. We do have it out for you. We have it out for you, and your entire team."

Alyce stood quiet to let him finish talking.

"We saw Kitty, and we're just doing it for fun. At least I was, but I think Dominikos is actually falling for that girl. But as for you, you're just a game to me. But I like you, you're tougher than the other girl's I've messed with."

"That's nice to know." Alyce mumbled getting up from her seat. She was going to get Kitty and go back to the mansion. Then what? Tell the Professor?

"You telling someone at your school, isn't going to help."

Alyce began to walk off when Pietro stopped her, running fast in front of her and pushing her against the wall.

"_Super Speed...?"_ Alyce thought, still trying to figure out his power.

"I hate humans. I hate their slow paced world. They walk around without a care in the world. They sicken me."

"So, do something about it." Alyce whispered, turning her face to the side. Pietro lightly laughed.

"You see, this is why I like you. You don't try to convince me to do other things. Like other girls would. I'm thinking you should come with me to the Brotherhood."

Alyce sighed. What the fuck? This was all turning out to be like a movie. "Sounds like a cult."

His grip on Alyce's shoulders grew tighter. "I can tell you don't like being in that X-Team. Following what Professor Xavier has to say, about respecting your fellow man. But why do that, when these people, those humans, don't respect us."

Alyce turned her head and looked into Pietro's dark blue eyes. "Get off of me."

"Listen. I'm not going to let you out of my sights just yet. I told you the truth about what I was going to do, but I think that may change."

"I don't care. If you or your stupid friend set a hand on Kitty or hurt her in anyway, I'll kill you both."

"You think you can? You think you can catch me, or withstand Dominikos earth-shattering quakes?"

Alyce noticed Pietro's speaking was getting faster and faster as he spoke. His breathing almost seemed nonexistent as he spoke with such speed.

"I know I can."

Pietro let go of Alyce's shoulders and took in a deep breath, looking around. He was getting ahead of himself. If anything, he probably just ruined the entire plan of messing with the X-Men. All because he was finding himself falling for a girl who was on the opposing side. He had only met her a couple hours of ago, it was utter bullshit.

Alyce began to walk off, but he took his hands and placed them back on her shoulders, slamming her against the wall. She gripped his neck as quick as she could, forming black metal spiky gauntlets. Pietro opened his eyes wide.

"If you don't let go of me, I will not hesitate to break your neck." Alyce was being fair. If it had been anyone else she didn't know, she would've broke their neck. Her Dad raised her to be a tough little cookie. And she was proud of it. Before she could register what had happened, Pietro was out of her grip and her hands where on her side, she was getting ready to kick when he leaned in.

She turned her face to the side, Pietro's lips resting on her check. He chuckled and leaned in close to her ear. "What, do you have that kid in your mind?"

John Allerdyce. The boy who had kissed her for the first time. The boy who was making her into a rebel.

And here was, Pietro. Last name, she did not know. The boy who was trying to kiss her. The boy who so happened to be trying to take down the X-Men.

Alyce growled and placed her hands on the wall behind her. She closed her eyes and thought of the movie theater. She was knew to this going threw walls thing, her father had taught her about it, but she never used it. Until now. It felt like she was being lowered into a big bathtub, and before she knew it, she was out of Pietro's grip and standing back in the theater. Alyce quickly made the gauntlets on her disappear as she walked down the aisle, trying to find Kitty.

"Kitty, we need to go."

Kitty looked at her with a strange look, Avalanche doing just the same. But he knew why. He cursed under his breath and got up, leaving Kitty to wonder what was happening.

"Look, my intentions are totally different than Pietro's."

"I don't care. You both were planning on using us from the beginning. Now, get out my way, or I'll make you get out." Alyce could feel the rage getting the best of her. Her adrenaline was rushing. Some people in the movie theater turned to see what was happening. Apparently, they were more interesting than the movie.

Avalanche cursed again and ran his hands threw his hair. "Look...just let me take Kitty home, and you can sort things out with Pietro. I know what we planned, but it's different now."

Alyce was feeling sorry for the guy. It was, indeed, all of Pietro's fault. "Take her home now." Alyce muttered. "If I see Pietro near her, he's going to get hurt."

Avalanche grabbed onto Kitty's hand and pulled her from her seat, still confused. "You know, Pietro, he's cutting you some slack. Just hear him out.."

Alyce clenched her fists. Avalanche taking it as a sign to leave, did so, Kitty being dragged behind. Alyce turned to head back outside, when a dark figure stood at the door.

"So I heard...you were an X-Men?" The voice spoke, it was a female, probably around 17, 18.

Alyce squinted her eyes, trying her best to figure out who it was. Alyce took a step back, watching as a red, hot bright liquid formed in the figures hands and spilled onto the floor.

"My name is Magma...I think I'm going to kill you know."

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A/N: Introducing another character lol. Magma isn't from the Brotherhood in the comics, but I'm making her a part of it in the story. Here is her little bio, and picture, by one of my favourite artists; Joshua Middleton.

.org/wiki/Magma_(comics)


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Mr. Joy

As quickly as Alyce could, she bent down and placed her hands on the floor. She raised her hand up, a black liquid forming and solidifying. Alyce pushed up against it as Magma began throwing gushy chunks of liquid hot lava. Why was Alyce always getting the Fire Mutants?

"Come out and play!" Magma giggled as she continued to throw more lava.

She had to be with the Brotherhood. There was no other explanation. Alyce bit her lip, trying to think of what to do. The lava splashed around her, people running up the aisles of the theater screaming. The movie still playing, the room still dark. Alyce pushed her leg out, forming thigh high boots to protect her legs and feet from getting burnt. She slowly positioned her back against her shield, forming the same protecting metallic armour on her arms. If Magma wanted to throw, so could she.

Alyce took in a deep breath and looked down. As soon as the magma touched the ground it solidified within a few seconds. If she wanted to catch it, she was going to have to do so mid-air.

"Don't make me come over there!" Magma sneered. "Come out!"

"You got it..." Alyce mumbled to herself. She could hear more lava splashing on the floor as Magma formed it with her hands. This was it now, or never. It was either catch it, or get burnt doing so. She heard Magma huff as she lifted her arm, and Alyce got up from where she was bent.

As she got up, she formed more armour around her upper chest and around her face. Alyce extended her left arm, her shoulder jerking back when the hot lava plopped into her hand. She squeezed her clawed hand over it.

"Would you look at that! Don't you look so spiky." Magma laughed, her blonde hair bouncing.

Without saying anything, Alyce took a step back and lunged her arm forward, sending the lava flying back toward Magma.

"Let's be serious here..." Magma rolled her eyes. She looked at the flying lava, and it soon dropped mid air, completely cooled. "If I can make lava, wouldn't you think I can control it too?"

"Why are you even attacking me?" Alyce asked, touching her shield making it disappear. Her mask crumbled away and she took a step forward.

Magma yawned. "Heard there was X-Geeks here. So why not. But you seem to be the only one. C'mon, it's been ages since I've been in a good fight. And you look like someone who can put up a good one."

Alyce casted her gaze to the floor, she stepped over the solidified lava taking a fighting stance. "I can't promise you, that you'll come out here in one piece."

"Over confident are we? I can't guarantee the same. Ready?" Magma didn't wait for Alyce to respond. She placed her hands on the floor, the earth under her rumbling awake. She stepped off the growing earth, pushing herself into the air.

"_Earth as well?!"_ Alyce thought as she took a step back and ran forward, jumping in the air. She formed a fist with her hand.

And the two clashed mid air. Magma dodged the punch, she brung her hands together and slammed her palms into Alyce's chest, sending her flying into the movie screen. She dropped down to the floor, clapping her hands. "I have to admit, for an X-Men, you're pretty good with your moves. But never underestimate someone."

Alyce groaned in pain as rolled to her side. Her mind wasn't clear. She needed to fight and she needed to win. Letting out a sigh in pain, Alyce massaged her chest. She coughed, spitting up blood. Wincing, she got up, stumbling to her feet. She had trained with her father, she had trained with the X-Men. She needed to win. She wasn't going to let some blonde haired lava girl win.

Alyce stood hunched over. She knew what she was going to do. She spat another mouthful of blood on the floor. "I gotta say, never spat up my own blood before."

"Well, there's a first for everything, right?"

Alyce watched as Magma began to attack. But she had this, she was going to win. Alyce stood up straight, closing her eyes. At the base of her feet a dark cloudy substance began to form.

"Oh! Are we going to play shadow puppets?" Magma asked, chuckling.

The black substance grew solid in colour as it shot up from the ground. It swished around Alyce like angry tentacles from an over sized Octopus. Alyce opened her eyes and focused her glare toward Magma. "Come on, are you scared?!" Alyce yelled, clenching her fists tight.

Magma growled her disapproval and ran toward Alyce, hot lava dripping from her hands, spilling on the floor as she ran down the aisle. Alyce waved her left hand in front of her, the black tentacles swishing in the direction, she formed a fist and the tentacles wrapped around Magma in an instant.

Magma struggled to get free, the lava in her hands doing nothing against the tentacles that had formed around her body. Alyce brung the tentacle toward her, Magma face to face with her. "Didn't you say, never underestimate someone?" And with that, she sent Magma flying back across the theater.

"I did!" Magma called back, as she flew right back, kicking the earth beneath her feet. She landed right on top of Alyce, her hands wrapping around her neck. "I told you I was going to kill you."

"_Fuck You._" Alyce sneered. She grabbed Magma by her face, digging her claws into her cheeks. The lava girl loosened her grip on Alyce's neck, screaming out in pain. Bending her knee, Alyce stuck it underneath Magma's stomach, and extended her leg out, kicking Magma off her.

Magma landed on the floor with a thud, her hands scrambling to her face. She screamed, more in surprise than in pain. But she began to laugh. Alyce pushed herself up, her sides aching, and blood still gushing out of her mouth. Her chest hurt, the pain rushing up and down her body.

"You're so stupid!" Magma laughed, getting up her hands still on her cheeks. She let out a howling shriek, and lava spit out of the floor, blasting it self out and into the air. "DIE!" Magma yelled.

Alyce took a step back as she watched the lava fly in her direction. It was too big to dodge, and if Alyce could dodge it, something was going to get hurt on her. It wasn't the end. Alyce took a defensive stance, quickly forming armour all over her body, but the lava came to quick.

Alyce cried out as a hot burning sensation rushed on her right arm. It was hot for an instant, then it cooled off, she could feel the pain go up her arm. And suddenly her body felt light, like she was flying. A whitish light formed in her vision.

"_Where are the heavenly gates?"_ She thought. Alyce spewed out more blood from her mouth. She was tired, her body ached, and her arm was on fire. Her eyes grew heavy, and she decided she should close them. Even though, in the movies, you aren't supposed too. But this wasn't the movies. It was real life. And she was dying. No...she was dead.

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A/N: Ok, so I tried. I'm never confident with my action scenes. So tell me what you think? Did I do ok, could you picture everything? :)


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Holy cow! Late night special, guys. Enjoy.

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Chapter 24: Dreams of Leaving

Pietro swore under his breath as he gently laid Alyce down on the cold asphalt of the parking lot. She had gone unconscious, her arm red from being burnt. But at least it wasn't that bad. He pushed a few strands of hair that had matted down on her face. He took out a napkin from his pocket and tried his best to wipe the blood off her mouth.

He had created so much wind and cold air, the flame went out on her arm as soon as he picked her up.

"_Why did that cunt of a whore, Alison show up?!"_ Pietro thought, his thoughts moving fast in his mind. No doubt it had to his father, it had to be Magneto. Where Avalanche had went he had no idea. He winced as the movie theater went up into flames. Good thing he had decided to run to another parking lot.

He looked down at Alyce, her face peaceful. Her breathing was slow, but she was still alive. He checked her pulse, not really knowing why. He couldn't make anything of it, other than it there was a pulse, and it was beating. Alive. Pietro let out a sigh and lifted Alyce in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, the wind catching his words and throwing them out into the night time air. "You're an X-Man, I'm from the Brotherhood. As long as that is, this is going to keep happening." He walked over to his car. He quickly opened the door, pushing back the seat. So quick in fact, Alyce stood suspended in air. Before her body began to fall, he was back, already holding her, laying her down in the back seat. He closed the passenger door, and walked over to the drivers side, leaning on the car and looking at the theater. What had happened to Alison, he had no idea. He didn't even care. But he was sure she was still alive.

Pietro jingled his wrist to look at his watch. "One o clock on the dot." He mumbled. "What am I going to do with you, Alyce?" If he took her back to the house, no doubt would he catch hell from his sister, Wanda. And probably the others that where there as well. If he brung her to the Mansion, no doubt there would be the other team members waiting for her return. He didn't want a confrontation. He would drop her off in the early morning. But for now, he would just drive.

He got into his car and turned it on. He looked back at Alyce, who had begun to dream, her eyes moving back and forth. "You're ok, you know that. So don't have any nightmares." He turned the wheel and began to drive out of the parking lot. "And no blood on my seats."

He was talking to himself, he realized this. But some how he knew she would hear him in her thoughts.

The morning sun begun to rose. The sound of birds whistling in the air signaling a new day. The morning glories began to shy themselves awake. Pietro leaned his head on his headrest, looking out of his window.

He wasn't no doctor, but he had tried his best to wrap Alyce's arm, and clean any blood on her. But every time he wiped her mouth up, more blood began to trickle out of it. Alison had really done a number on her. He just wanted to hurry up and leave Alyce on the doorstop, not because he was mean, but because the sooner he did, the sooner they would find her and help her.

Pietro looked back at Alyce. Her breathing was heavy and rhythmic, the sign that she was sleeping a nice solid sleep. She murmured a few things in her sleep, but nothing he could make out. He decided that talking to himself, was going to be the best remedy. At least until he was ready to get out of his car and make his way to the mansion to drop her off.

"You're a crazy girl, you know that?" He spoke quietly. He looked back at her and smiled. "Pshh, ignore me then. But you are. Alison was always annoying, but then again everyone is annoying to me." He stood quiet, looking down at his iPod that was connected to his car. "You like Chopin. I'm going to play it for you." He turned it on, the sound of light piano filling the car.

Pietro rolled down his car window and breathed in the cold morning air. "Alright, Alyce. I'm dropping you off." He got out of his car, and pushed the drivers seat to the front. He carefully pulled Alyce to him, gathering her in his arms. She moaned in distress. "I know you don't want to be moved, just shut up."

Pietro held on tightly to Alyce and ran his way to the Xavier Mansion. In a matter of seconds, he was in the back garden. "Nice place." He mused. It was to his liking, much better than the shitty Brotherhood house. He spied a bunch near a rose bush and made his way to it. He settled Alyce down on it, making sure she didn't seem uncomfortable. "Comfy?" He asked, fixing up her hair. He really had hit a new time low, talking to himself. Or rather, talking to someone who was knocked out. A first for everything.

He took a step back, looking at Alyce. She seemed alright. He hoped she was ok. But he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay put, and lay her head in his lap, and stay with her until she woke up. But there was three things wrong with that. He would get caught, and blamed. And then he would have to deal with that boy. John.

Pietro took in a deep breath and walked back toward Alyce. "I have my eyes on you." He whispered into her ear, placing a kiss on her forehead. She stirred, mumbling. But nothing he could make out. His head jerked up as a faint whistling grew louder.

Someone was coming.

"_Ah!_ _Bonjour,_ little flowers!"

Pietro took one last look at Alyce. At least now, someone was going to find her and help her. He turned around and ran back in the direction of his car, which was at least 5 miles away. But that was nothing for him. It was like a walk in the park.

Pietro arrived back at his car, opening the door and sitting in. Now, he was going to have to go home. And deal with his annoying sister, and the questions from Avalanche. If only he could run away from them, forever, he so would.

Then what? Join the X-Men?

Pietro let out a loud laugh as he started his car, and began to drive his way back home.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Because We Separate

Remy didn't think that what he was seeing, was actually real. It was still pretty early in the morning. He hadn't gotten enough sleep, so maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He stood still, still looking at the bench. Was that Alyce? It couldn't be.

Remy blinked his eyes. Kitty had stormed in the mansion last night, crying, but she wouldn't say why. What had happened to Alyce no one knew, not even Kitty. But that was her, right on the bench. With a bandage on her arm, and her clothes dusty and torn.

"_Merde Sainte!"_ Remy cursed, finally snapping back to his senses. He ran over to the bench, and took a closer look. It was her. "_Hé!"_ Remy yelled, taking Alyce's face in his hands. He lightly tapped her cheek, trying to her to wake up. "_Réveillez-vous!"_ He called out.

His mind was too full of panic to worry about speaking English. What was he going to do? Remy gently patted her cheek, her eyes stirring. "_Mon ami, _Wake up! What happened? Are you ok?"

Alyce's eyes hurt to much for her to open them. But all she heard was Remy. Remy and his barrage of questions. She moaned, turning her head to the direction of his voice.

"What happened?!" Remy asked again. He carefully grabbed onto her shoulders, trying to sit her up.

Alyce let out a cry of pain. "Shoulder...." She winced, grabbing onto Remy's arms to steady herself. She was trying to open her eyes, but the morning light was piercing. Her chest ached horribly, and as she sat up, a bubble of blood traveled up her throat and came out of her mouth.

"_Oh Dieu, oh Dieu. Qu'est-ce qui n'est pas juste?" _

Alyce smiled meekly. "Remy..."Her voice croaked. "Calm down, I'm fine." He sounded cute when he was worried. It must be the French. She had never heard him speak it fully, only in little phrases.

"You're not fine, _mon ami._ Remy needs to get you to the infirmary. Come, on. Remy is going to carry you, ok?"

"No." Alyce whispered. She held onto Remy's arms, looking at him. "Just sit down..." She coughed once more. "Just sit down next to me. Tell me what happened to Kitty."

Remy took in a deep breath. He just wanted to get her inside, but if she wanted him to sit down here, he would. "Are you sure, you can sit out here? You're bleeding!"

Alyce smiled and tapped the space next to her. "Sit, Remy. I'll go inside in a bit, ok?"

"Fine, but if _mon ami_, keeps spitting up blood, then Remy is taking you inside." Remy sat down next to Alyce grabbing her hand lightly. "What happened to your hand?" He asked, running his fingers over the bandage that lay on her hand.

Alyce leaned her head on Remy's shoulder. He smelled good. Men's cologne, something she had smelled before. Probably her father used the same one. "Got in a fight with some girl."

"Everyone was worried about you, _chere. Le Chaton_, wouldn't say what happened to you."

"Kitty? Is she ok?"

"_Oui_, she is fine. _Le Feu_, was the most upset. He didn't want to say, but Remy could tell."

Alyce let out a sigh, wiping blood from her mouth using her good hand. "He didn't want me to go with Kitty to the movies, but I had too..."

"Shhhh, Remy knows. Remy saw what happened in the parking lot. Don't talk, it looks like it hurts too try."

He was right. Every breath she took, a sharp pain shot into her chest. She looked up at Remy and smiled. "_You talk, then."_ Read the look on her face.

Remy nodded his head, trying his best not to look at her. She looked so beat down, her face tired and pale. Her eyes looked defeated, like they were almost loosing their vibrant blue colour. She was in pain and he needed to get her inside. Without saying anything, he picked her up into his arms. "Remy will explain on the way."

Alyce nodded, wrapping her arms around Remy's neck. He was strong, his arms wrapping around her, made her feel safe. She closed her eyes, and placed her head on his chest, listening to his slow breathing and fast heart beat.

"Remy knows John likes you. Everyone knows that, _Le Feu_, makes it so obvious. When you left with Kitty and her friends, when all of us got back to the mansion, _Le Feu_ was mad. But Remy could tell he was also very hurt. Like he had just lost something so special." Remy gently lifted Alyce up a bit more, as he walked through the garden.

"Remy would be, sad too, if he had lost someone he loved. Or someone he loved went with someone else. If something happened to you, _Chere_, Remy would be sad. If something happened to Jubilee, Remy would be sad. Remy thinks that white haired kid you went with, also likes you."

Alyce smiled to herself. "You're like a mind reader?"

Remy hushed her. "Remy said to be quiet. Now, Remy doesn't know the whole story, but he believes Alyce will tell him sooner or later. You're getting yourself into something that is going to turn into something big. Remy doesn't like John, and Remy doesn't like that other kid. In fact!, Remy doesn't like anyone who he thinks is strange."

All Alyce wanted to do was laugh, but it would hurt her if she did. Remy was too caring for his own good. And though his voice was serious, his face stern, his accent is what made everything so light hearted. She stood quiet, paying attention to Remy.

"Now, Remy isn't saying he should control who or what Alyce dates. All Remy wants is for Alyce to be safe. Just be careful, _mon chere._ And if any one of them hurt you, Remy will be here to help you."

They entered the mansion, the morning sun peaking threw the windows. A few students were up and about, but they stood quiet as Remy walked through the halls, Alyce in his arms. He made his way to the nearest elevator, to take Alyce down to the infirmary.

"Remy, do me a favour."

"Remy said to be quiet."

Alyce chuckled. "Don't tell anyone you found me. I don't want anyone to get worried."

Remy sighed looking down at Alyce. "Remy won't tell, if Remy gets a kiss on the cheek."

Alyce smiled and wrapped her arms tight around Remy's neck. He lowered his cheek to her and she placed a small kiss on it.

"Ok, Remy won't tell."

Remy was just too adorable. She felt safe with him, next to her. Safe like, a family safe. In the beginning, he was the first to befriend her, to talk with her. And she liked him for that. But as she spent time with the team, she always knew that he would be there to help her. And she was right. This was someone who would stick with her, and always help her. It was a different feeling, a feeling of friendship.

"_La Chere_ will go to sleep now. You're safe."

Alyce nodded, closing her eyes, letting the sleep wash over her.

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**Glossary de la Gambit**

**_Merde Sainte- _**Holy Shit

**_Hé-_**Hey!

**_Réveillez-vous!- _** Wake up!

**_Oh Dieu, oh Dieu. Qu'est-ce qui n'est pas juste- _**(Roughly translated to) Oh god, oh god! What is wrong/not fair.

_**Le Chaton-**_ The Kitty


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Ok guys! This chapter is short, I'm not so good with medical jargon, lol. Thank god for Wikipedia. Any who, I'm leaving to PA, for a week to spend some time with my brother and his family. So, I'll be gone a week. But as soon as I get back, more updates! So here's a nice short chapter as a little going away present. Leave Alyce all your 'Get Well Wishes' in your comments. :)

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Chapter 26: The Diag-Nonsense

Jean slowly cut away the sleeve of Alyce's sweater. Her right arm had been bandaged pretty well. Who did it, she didn't know. But that wasn't the point. Right now, Jean needed to run her check up. To get Alyce on the X-Ray table to take a closer look at her. She was spitting up blood, Remy had told her. That meant broken bones. Broken something.

Jean gently removed Alyce's sweater, picking up her pair of medical scissors and making a cut up Alyce's shirt. As soon as she took it off, she knew what was the problem.

"A Clavicle Fracture." It was the first thing she saw. On the arm that was burnt, you could easily tell the shoulder bone was broken, and so was the collar bone. Jean gently ran her hand over Alyce's chest. She pressed lightly on Alyce's rib cage, causing Alyce to moan in pain. "Broken Ribs...." How she managed to stay up and chat with Remy, she had no idea. She was a strong girl. And she needed surgery. Jean quickly checked the rest of Alyce's body, nothing else major. She quickly rolled the gurney to the X-Ray machine and began the process.

"_Your father and mother are worried..."_Jean thought, speaking to Alyce using her powers. "_You're a very strong girl."_

The door to the infirmary opened, Hank McCoy walking in. "Is she ok? I heard what happened. Have you made a proper diagnosis?"

"Yes, she has a Clavicle Fracture and Second Degree burns on her right arm. She also has two broken ribs." Jeans pressed a button on the X-Ray machine, several images illuminating on a nearby white board.

Hank walked up to where Alyce lay and gently pressed on her right shoulder. "Swelling has gone down,." He pressed lightly, and Alyce stirred. "Was she able to move it when she was conscious?" Depending on how she moved it, if she couldn't at all or just a bit, determined how serious the fracture was.

"For the little time she was awake, when Remy brought her in. She was floating out of consciousness, but she was able to move it, just barely. She said the pain spread to her chest area."

"Right, enough of that. We know what's the problem, we need to operate immediately."

Jean nodded. She rolled the gurney to the back of the room, closing a pair of cotton white curtains.

"Get everything prepared, I will call her parents."

Jean scrambled across the room, collecting syringes and sterilized scalpels and suture. The surgery wouldn't take long at all. Hank was a very smart surgeon, and so was Jean. What would normally take 4 to 5 hours at a normal hospital, would take only 2 here. Jean placed the items on a tray and set them down. She walked to Alyce and wiped her face with a wet cloth. She strapped an oxygen mask on her face, and turned it on, and began to connect her to various machines, that measured heart rate and brain waves.

This had been the first major surgery in the years Jean had been here. Jean unwrapped Alyce's arm and cleaned it as best as she could. This was going to be done, and Alyce was going to be just fine. Jean wiped away the tears forming from her eyes. It hurt her to see one of her students like this. In pain, for what had been hours.

"Ok, James is coming with wife in a few, he's very worried." Hank appeared back in the room. "I called Ororo down here to assist. Are you ready Jean?"

Jean looked at Hank, her eyes tearing. "Yes."

Hank placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Jean. Alyce is a strong girl. And we're going to fix her up."

"Right, let's get started."

Jean walked over to a large sink and washed her hands. She pulled on medical gloves, and slapped on a medical mask. She tied back her hair, and closed up her lab coat. Right now, she looked more like a mad scientist than a doctor. She walked over to Alyce and placed her hands lightly on her head.

"_You're going to be fine..I promise you...."_

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	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Why Hello there! I'm back home, so that means, updates! Enjoy :)

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Chapter 27: It's exactly right, Alyce!

She whistled threw pink, glossy lips. Her honey blond hair falling to her shoulders in light curls. Her green eyes, glistening, full with happiness as she looked down at Alyce. She fiddled with a small stuffed plush in her hands, still wondering what she could say.

"Alyce, you've been sleeping here....for, two weeks. Get up." The girl looked down again at Alyce, her sleeping face peaceful. "I came here to visit you, after I heard what happened. Remember when we were younger? And you fell off your bike and hit your head? It's like that, except, we're older now."

Isabella "Bella" Garland. The only cousin Alyce actually liked. The only cousin who was her complete opposite, yet they got along so well. Who could get Alyce to get up and dance....and enjoy it.

Bella sighed, patting Alyce's hand again. "Well, when you're rested. I'll be here."

The door to the infirmary opened, Alyce's father, James, walking in. He looked back at his wife, a sad expression both on their faces. "Anything yet, Isabella?" James asked, hugging onto Lilia, who had taken one look at Alyce and began to cry. They had been visiting Alyce ever since Hank had called them. But every time Lilia walked into the room, she would cry.

Bella looked back at Alyce, smiling. "She's dreaming. I think, she'll be awake soon."

James let out a small laugh, rubbing his wife's shoulders. "Honey, don't cry. Bella wears such strong perfume, she might snap Alyce back to life if she keeps sitting next to her."

"Hey!" Bella huffed. "It's just Lavender and Chamomile. It's relaxing." She sniffed her yellow cardigan, grimacing at her Uncle. "Maybe it's your strong men cologne that will wake her up. You only, like, take a shower with the bottle, Uncle James."

"What did I tell you about calling me Uncle? I feel so goddamn old when you do. Lilia, honey, tell your sister's daughter something. Your sister should've left her at the Zoo with the monkeys."

A small smile played on Lilia's red face. No matter what situation, James always had his humour. Even when their daughter lay on a bed, an oxygen mask on her face, her right side bandaged, he still was strong. She patted James' chest lightly. "Be nice you two. Don't be too loud. Alyce is sleeping."

"She's fine. I bet right now, she's dreaming of what we're saying." Bella smiled at her Aunt. "Don't worry."

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"_Isabella....shut up. I'm trying to sleep."_ Alyce groaned to herself. Bella always got loud whenever she was excited. Or just plain worried. It was tolerable, but to an extent. Alyce inhaled deeply, the scent of Bella's perfume filling her nose. She could hear Bella, her Father and her Mother.

"_Tell Izzy to just shush. I'll be up soon." _

Bella hated that nickname that Alyce had given her. But she dealt with it. At least Izzy was a cute nickname. Bella would call Alyce, Al, to piss her off. She was more like a younger sister, than a cousin. She knew exactly how to get under Alyce's skin. Kind of like John.

Alyce stirred, remembering the past events. She was back at the Mansion, and soon she would have to deal with John. What was going to happen, Alyce had no idea. But it was John. It couldn't be good.

"Alyce..." Came Bella's voice. "Wake up!" Her sing song voice reached Alyce's ears. "I came a long way to see you, and watching you sleep isn't so exciting."

"Bella, just.....be quiet." Alyce groaned quietly.

"Oh my god! She's up! She's up!" The sound of Bella's chuckling filled the room, a loud clapping echoing into the air.

Alyce groaned, gritting her teeth. "No...clapping....." It was like thunderbolts going threw her brain. She reached out her hand, someone grabbing it and squeezing it. Slowly, Alyce opened her eyes. She closed them back immediately, the bright light blinding her. Alyce gritted her teeth, as she tried to push herself up in a sitting position.

A pair of hands lightly grasped her shoulders, lifting her up. Judging by how gentle they were, the hands must've belonged to her father. A slight pain shot threw her right arm and her stomach but it was bearable. "Dad..."

"Alyce...before you say anything, let me say something." James lifted Alyce up to a sitting position, gently taking off the oxygen mask that lay on her face. "Can you hear me fine?" He asked, looking over to her right arm, that was bandage, as well as her stomach.

"Yea.." Alyce squeaked.

"O.k, well. Look, I don't know what's happening. Or what kind of drama is unfolding. But this is your shit. You hear me, Alyce? Your mother and I talked, and we think you can handle this on your own. You're strong enough, and you can handle things most can't. So whatever is happening, I don't want to know. Just make sure you get back home alive."

Alyce nodded her head in agreement. This is why she loved her parents. They never overly worried about her. Sure they did worry, but not to the extent of most parents. They let her be on her own.

"Besides, I'm getting old. I don't need to be fighting little snot nosed mutant brats who think they're hot shit."

Alyce let out a giggle, ignoring the sharp pain that shot around her ribs. "Thanks, Dad. Don't worry." Alyce slowly began opening her eyes, looking around the room. She eyes caught Bella's bright yellow cardigan.

"Izzy..."

"Al...?"

"I missed you."

Bella squealed in delight, throwing herself into Alyce's arm. She was so petite. Tiny, probably the best to explain her, that it didn't even hurt. Alyce chuckled as she wrapped her arms around her cousin, her right arm being stiff to the bone.

"Did you bring the guitars?" Alyce asked quietly, her voice barely audible.

"Of course I did!" Bella smiled, pulling away from Alyce. "God, you let yourself go to shit. I need to do your hair."

"No..you don't."

"I do!" Bella protested. She placed her hands on her hips, giving Alyce a scowl. "Don't be like that. Just because I don't have any special powers, doesn't mean I can't do good hair."

Alyce laughed. Bella was scared of nothing. She had no phobias, no public speaking anxiety. She could jump off a cliff and laugh on the way down. A short, tiny girl with a big personality. That's exactly how Bella was.

"Look..." Bella rolled her eyes. "If I can deal with a High School full of Jocks and Preps, I can deal with a High School full of Mutants."

Lilia let out a laugh. "Alyce, sweetie, you have no idea the stories this girl has told us on the way here. Your cousin is crazy."

Alyce chuckled once more, taking in a deep breath. It was such a relief to wake up, and be surrounded by her family. She was expecting, a rather angry, John fuming over her. Or Kitty, crying and dropping her tears on Alyce's face while she slept. Her whole family was dysfunctional to a degree and she loved it.

"I am not crazy. But...Alyce, you're going to hate me."

"_Oh no."_ Alyce thought. Whenever Bella did something, it was something big. Always, no exceptions.

"Oh god." James sighed, laughing. "Lilia, let's go. Alyce is going to go ape-shit in about five seconds. I think Bella's mutant power might be the power of persuasiveness."

Alyce groaned in detest, rubbing her eyes with her left hand. "Please...Bella..."

Bella chuckled nervously. "Alyce....you're going to love it ok. So hear me out..."

Alyce let out another groan, slumping back to lay down. "You're lucky I'm wounded."

"Right, right. But look. The Professor let me throw a.....uh..party....he really is a nice guy!" Bella looked at Alyce nervously. She knew Alyce hated parties. And this school was pretty big, which meant a big party. "It'll be fine, you just have to stick with me."

Alyce closed her eyes and didn't respond. Why her? Why? She suddenly wished she had stood sleeping.

"Besides, we can go to your room and I can help you get ready, and you can tell me what happened to you."

"Bella...." Alyce murmured.

"Uhh, yea Alyce?"

"I...hate...you."

Bella let out a giggle as she placed a small kiss on Alyce's forehead. "We're going to have fun. I'm going to stay with you until you get well enough to walk around. And whoever did this to you, is going to feel the wrath of Isabella Garland. The Human with Human Powers!"

Bella laughed, poking Alyce's cheek. But by then she had already fallen back asleep, her eyes moving rapidly as she dreamed of something.

"Don't worry Alyce. I'm going to take care of you. Just like when we were younger."

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	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Remember when...this happened?

Bella gently passed a brush threw Alyce's hair. They had been in her room for hours, Alyce telling Bella everything that had happened. Everything meant everything. Even if Alyce didn't want to, Bella had a way of prying it out of her.

"Remy sounds like a cutey. But this John, guy, he sounds like he really really likes you, Alyce."

Alyce shrugged. "I'm only sharing because you've had more boyfriends than me."

"Well that's because you don't try."

"I never wanted too....." Alyce growled. She motioned for Bella to hold her up, as she pushed herself off the bed and limped her way to the dresser. "I don't know how you can deal with it, honestly. Maybe it's because you never had a mutant boyfriend."

Bella plopped herself onto Alyce's bed and giggled. "You're right. I never did. John's fiery hot temper, sounds exciting. And who was that other guy? Pietro. Gosh, you have the hunks all over you."

"Please..just stop." Alyce moaned. "It's weird talking about boys...."

"For you it is! But for me this is a classic time waster. You need to be more girly. You know, talk about boys, cry when you get your heart broken. So, are you, like, scared to go outside?"

"Hmm?" Alyce pondered, picking out a simple shirt and jeans out of her dresser. "What do you mean?"

"Because of that girl, the one who hurt you?" Bella got up, helping Alyce over to the shower. "Do you think she might come back?"

Alyce let out a sharp exhale as she leaned on Bella. She lifted her foot up, as Bella helped to take off pants. "I'm not scared. I can handle her. I'm not concerned about me now, I need to look after you while you're here."

Bella smiled as she settled Alyce down into the tub. "Sit back, I'm going to turn on the water. Your bandages are going to get wet."

Alyce complied, feeling more like a daughter to Bella than a cousin. "If anyone walks in right now, you look like you're going to molest me."

Bella laughed as she turned on the water slowly. "Sponge bath. So erotic."

The two girls giggled. "You're not the one going to be protecting me, I'm going to protect you. You're the one all injured."

"Just shut up, Bella. I'm the one with the powers."

"So...I'm outrageously human. Much more dangerous.....So what are you going to do about the team you're on?"

"I was hoping you could give me some advice."

Bella nodded, turning off the water and finished up scrubbing Alyce. She hoisted Alyce up, guiding her back to the bedroom and sitting her back on the bed. "You're only worried about John. I'm sure everyone else will be ok. They'll just be happy you're back. I just think it's super cute, how you explain Remy...you have to introduce me."

Alyce let out a laugh. "Oh, I think he'll introduce himself." Alyce began to put on her shirt when Bella stopped her.

"No...no concert shirts."

"C'mon, Bellz, it's The Doors. Jim Morrison is God."

Bella shook her head. "It's a party. I know Jim Morrison is God, He's awesome. I love him too. But it's a modern party, not a 60's flower power thing. I knew this was going to happen, so I took the liberty of buying you some stuff."

Alyce let out a huff. Being around Bella was letting her inner child come out. She had been so defensive around the others here, that being able to let her guard down around Bella was an awesome feeling. She hoped that the Team didn't notice. This wasn't a side of her she was ready to share. Alyce looked over to Bella, who pulled out a fancy wrapped box from underneath the bed.

"I know getting you to wear colour, is like, asking Satan to wear white, so I picked out some nice dark colours. Open!"

Cautiously, Alyce opened the box and pulled out a low cut, long sleeved blouse.

"It ends at the elbows. I know you don't like long sleeves."

"Bellz.....if I wear this.....cleavage...please....no. Don't make me wear this."

"Shut up!" Bella spoke seriously. "I spent hours dragging Uncle James threw different stores. So wear it for him too."

"Dad wouldn't like this on me, anyway...."

"I bought a nice necklace, so it'll take away the distraction of your boob cleavage. I know you have some nice pants. I'll even let you wear your Converse."

"You watch too much What Not To Wear..."

"I love that show.....now let's get you into these clothes, so I can get dressed. The party started about an hour ago."

"Fashionably late?" Alyce pondered, pulling the blouse over her head.

"No, just because you took so long to get up the steps."

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"Bella.....I can't...I look like-"

"A girl?! I mean, you can tell you're a girl. But now you look more girly."

"My Doors shirt is more comfy. This is like, lifting and separating my boobs."

Bella growled. "How about, you shut up? I'm the one wearing a skirt. You're wearing jeans. You're lucky I didn't make you put on the dress I bought you. Now c'mon!"

"Dress?" Alyce questioned, as Bella looped arms with her and helped her down the stairs of the Mansion. She felt silly wearing such a nice shirt, and having her whole right arm bandaged up. Not only that, but she was limping, if she stood up for too long, her ribs began to hurt. They walked slowly, towards the big gymnasium of the Mansion.

"How do you know the layout of the Mansion?" Alyce pondered. Bella glided threw the halls with ease, as if she had been here for months.

"You forget? You were out for two weeks. Two weeks, Alyce. I'm pretty good with my memory. All I had to do was walk around once."

Alyce gently leaned on Bella, to get her to stop walking. "Look, maybe I shouldn't do this. You can go, make friends. Everyone is, overly nice here. But I'm not ready to face the team. I know Kitty will ask me a million questions. Maybe even Avalanche is here."

"I highly doubt that. Kitty was the walk threw walls girl? Don't worry. If she mentions anything, just come get me. I'll start talking about shopping or something."

"Bellz, it's taking a lot for me to admit this...but...I'm scared."

Bella looked at Alyce with wide eyes. "That is, the first time, EVER, I have heard you say something like that. Don't say it again. Because you're a strong girl. If you don't want to be there then we'll leave together. But just go in for a few minutes.....please?"

Alyce bit her lip, looking as Bella gave her the puppy dog eyes. "You know, when you do that, I can't say no."

Bella smiled, looping arms back with her cousin and taking her to the party. Alyce was, on the other hand, trying her best to contain her anger. Everyone they passed stopped to stare. If she could read minds, she didn't have to know what they were thinking about Bella.

"I know what you're thinking." Bella chuckled. "And they're looking at both of us. That blouse and necklace and the bracelets make you look so much different. Crazy, what small things can do."

Alyce took in a deep breath as both of them entered the gym. It was packed. Of course it was, the whole school had to be in here. Surprisingly enough, it was actually cool. Not hot and stuff as Alyce had thought. The lights where nice and dim, a perfect dancing atmosphere. There was a big food bar, and drinks. Of course nothing being alcoholic. It was like the gym had been re-done into a club.

"Uncle James helped with the changing." Bella laughed, letting go of Alyce. "Looks nice, huh?"

Alyce had to admit, it was nice. "Nice, sure...but..."

"NO! I know what you're going to say..."

"The music. I can deal with it, but you know it's not my thing."

"It's dance able R&B. I even made the play list myself. So I added in some stuff for you."

Alyce sighed, opening her blue eyes wide and searching the gym for the X-Team. She already just wanted to leave.

"Relax, c'mon. Let's get you a seat somewhere. And I'll go get you something to drink."

Alyce nodded, letting Bella guide her to a chair. She watched cautiously, as Bella made her way to the drink table. If anyone even touched her the wrong way it was over. But what would the X-Team think? Knowing how John was, even Remy, the first thought was going to be....Lesbian Lovers.

Alyce groaned and massaged the bridge of her nose. She chuckled. Remy would so think that. Alyce looked up, trying to find Bella. But she had gotten lost in the massive crowd. Bracing herself on the chair, Alyce got up, and began to make her way threw the crowd, ignoring the kids bumping into her arm. She had just caught Bella, when she froze.

Already Remy had began to introduce himself. If he was near, so was Jubilee. If Jubilee was near, so was Kitty, then Rogue. Then Bobby, John, Piotr. It was like a train. "_Fuck." _ Alyce swore under her breath. Why was she so scared anyway? So nervous?

She looked on, as Remy placed his arm around Bella. "Remy, you sly fox." Alyce chuckled. She took in a deep breath and limped her way behind them.

"_La Cheri_, is new here? Remy has never seen you here before."

Bella giggled. "You must be, Remy."

Alyce sighed, placing a hand on Remy's shoulder. "You have a girlfriend. And she's my younger cousin."

Remy jumped, his hand going back to his side as he turned around to meet Alyce.

"_Mon Cheri!"_ Remy yelled in happiness. He lifted Alyce up in his arms, twirling her around. It looked like a big hug, and it was, but very gentle. Like she had been picked up by air. Alyce giggled. "Hey, Remy."

Remy put her down smiling a big toothy grin. "_Comment est ma petite soeur?"_ Remy spoke in his French. Bella giggled, obviously already up in the clouds by him. Remy placed his hands on Alyce's shoulder and waited for her to respond.

"Remy..." Alyce laughed. "You're speaking in French."

"Oh!" He laughed, grabbing Alyce's face and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Remy asked how is his little sister?"

"Awwwwwww." Bella swooned, clasping her hands over her heart.

"I'm fine, Remy. That's my cousin, Bella. She's going to be staying here, until I get a bit better."

Remy glanced over at Bella and stared, as if he was pondering. He then shrugged his shoulders and grabbed Bella, enveloping her into a big hug. "Any family of Alyce is family to Remy."

Alyce smiled as Bella began to blush madly. Remy was so welcoming. It was a big wave of relief. Alyce looked around the gym, trying to spot the rest of the team, but they were no where in sight. It was weird. Remy and Bella began to chat, their voices droned out of Alyce's ears by the pulsating music. A strange feeling began to crawl it's way into Alyce's stomach.

Dizzily, she placed a hand over her tummy. It was as if someone let loose a thousand tiny spiders. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes, but her mind was still spinning. The music pumped it's bass into Alyce's blood stream, her whole body felt weird. What was wrong with her?

She covered her mouth with her hand, the feeling of throwing up becoming evident. She began to stumble her way threw the crowd when a pair of hands plopped onto her shoulders. Alyce growled in pain, her right elbow burning with pain.

"Can't you at least, take care of yourself? You're even more stupid than last time."

"What?" Alyce moaned, letting the hands guide her threw the gym. She was stopped in front of the buffet, piles of steaming food greeting her.

"You're gone for two weeks, and look at you. Eat."

Alyce closed her eyes, leaning into the person who was behind her.

"Open your mouth...eat this."

Who was this? Alyce furrowed her brow as she began to slowly unravel the mystery. The pushiness, the controlling matter. "I'm not hungry......_John."_

"I don't care. Eat anyway."

He pushed her down on a nearby seat, obviously unaware of her right arm being bandaged. So Remy did keep his secret. Alyce jumped when a plate of food plopped itself into her lap, she could feel the heat radiating threw the plate onto her legs. She didn't want to eat anything, but she still found her arm picking up the fork and digging in.

"Tsk. Get yourself together. You look like shit."

Alyce looked up, still dizzy, the dim lights making her vision even worse. "Fuck you." She grumbled, with a mouthful of....whatever it was she was eating.

"C'mon. Let's go outside...."

Alyce felt like a baby. It was making her angry. But she still found herself secretly smiling. John and his weird way of caring for someone. Or was it just him being an asshole? Whichever of the two it was, Alyce missed it.

She hated herself for admitting it. But she did.

Alyce leaned her head on John's shoulder, his leather jacket sticking to her cheek. It was good to be back.

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A/N: Being at my brother's house for two weeks, and I just have too much stored up story ideas. :) Like it? Yay, nay?


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Oo another chapter. I'm on a roll. This is mostly dialogue ish :) So enjoy! More to come tonight!

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Chapter 29: The fishes aren't swimming

Alyce massaged her arm, the pain dying down a bit. John force feeding her did make her feel better, but if it wasn't her stomach gurgling, it was her bones aching. She felt old, like she belonged in an old folks home, rather than the Mansion.

The cold night air, swished between them, as if it was begging them to talk to each other. They had been sitting in silence for a while now, the muffled sound of the party music still playing in the background.

"So you're not going to tell me what happened to your arm?" John asked, acting as if he was talking to himself.

Alyce sighed, suddenly wishing she had wore her band shirt, rather than this low cut blouse. It was just so uncomfortable. She looked over at John, avoiding eye contact. "It's nothing serious."

"Serious if you disappeared for two weeks. Then a day ago, The Professor tells us you had to get surgery because you broke some bones. You should've just went with me, instead--"

"I didn't follow you outside for you to argue." Alyce interrupted, leaning back on the bench, the hard wood oddly comforting her back. "I got into a little fight, and I got a bit roughed up." Alyce closed her eyes, the images of the fight between her and Magma all to vivid.

John let out a sigh, his fingers fiddling with his Zippo lighter. "So you're not going to tell me what happened? What did that white haired punk, say something? You like him now?"

"No."

"No for what?"

"For everything." Alyce looked up into the night sky. The tension between them was just too great. Alyce looked over to John, his jaw clenched. "Some mutant from the Brotherhood attacked me when I went to go get Kitty, so we could go back home. That guy that she met took her home, and I got my ass kicked. Then I wake up in the garden, and Remy brings me inside. Happy?"

John took in a deep breath, his face twisting as if something had hit him in the chest. Alyce turned her head back to look at the sky. "You don't need to worry about me. My cousin, Bella is here. She's going to be staying here until I can walk by myself. I'm limping everywhere."

Alyce tried her best to let out a little chuckle. But it sounded forced, strained. She couldn't read John's emotions. And it was bothering her.

"I..." John exhaled in confusion. "I worried. A lot."

Alyce blinked her eyes. Was this really John who sat next to her? Why wasn't he cursing and being bossy. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Fine." He grumbled. A failed attempt, he decided to try to explain his emotions.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm just saying. We're mutants John, I can understand if I wasn't one. But I fought well. Sure, a couple broken bones. But I came back with my head on my body."

John rolled his eyes, hunching forward. He was acting like a stupid little girl. He shouldn't have to explain anything about his feelings. "You shouldn't even be at that party."

"I shouldn't. But, Bella put it together, and she wanted me to come. It's been ages since I've seen her."

"When was the last time you've seen her?"

"Maybe when I was about, 15 or so. The last time I really hanged out with her. She had come over to spend the summer, and it was when my mutant powers started acting up. She would walk around with this big wooden baseball bat all the time."

John let out a laugh. "Why?"

Alyce smiled. "To protect me from people who didn't understand."

"She sounds like a trooper."

"She is. As small as she looks. But this one time, we both got beaten up pretty bad. Me for being a mutant, and her for protecting one. Since then, I'm pretty over protective of her."

John let out another laugh. "I thought you were super hard core. You're just lame." He placed his hand over Alyce's bandaged right hand. He gently stroked her palm. "Don't get hurt anymore. Or disappear."

"I'll try not to. No guarantees."

"Heh right."

"So...do you have an secrets you need to tell me?"

John looked at Alyce, confusion plastered on his face. "Huh?"

"The girl from the brotherhood, she had these lava powers. I guess you jinxed me."

"How so?"

"I'm always jumping into fire lately."

The sound of crickets began to play around them, as the night sky began to get darker. The cool winds hushed down, letting the trees sleep and relax from their swaying. A cool mist settled in the air, leaving John and Alyce's breath to hang in the air in white clouds.

John shook his head and shrugged. "It's not my fault you're so careless." He smiled to himself. "Once you play with fire, it's just impossible to get away from it."

Alyce laughed, breathing in the cool night time air. "We should go back inside, Bella might be going crazy." She probably was. How Alyce managed to get out of her cousin's watchful eye, was amazing. Remy must've put his charms on to the maximum level.

John got up, sticking his hand out for Alyce. She grabbed his hand lightly, his hand closing over hers. "We should, she better not beat me with any baseball bats."

"If you act up, she just might..."


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Give me a long kiss goodnight

After much scolding, by Bella, Alyce had managed to get to her room and lay down. Bella sleeping right next to her. Alyce had later learned from her father, that Bella had refused to sleep anywhere else, unless Alyce was with her.

Just like when they were kids. They stuck with each other like glue, and when one fell asleep, the other followed right after. In the little hours she had been awake, so much had happened. Alyce was still trying to figure out how she got back to the Mansion. She didn't even remember much of the conversation she had with Remy when he found her.

Alyce folded her left arm behind her head, leaving her right arm to lay still. It hurt too much to move it, and it hurt to just let it sit there. But what could she do? Alyce yawned, looking over to Bella, who had been knocked out. She had tied back her blond hair, and slipped into a bright red pajama set. What was in store for Alyce tomorrow, was a mystery. Bella always came up with something last minute.

Alyce closed her eyes taking in deep breaths, the same Jean had showed her to soothe the pain in her mid section. "Bella, do you remember, when I made you that BMX bike you wanted. And your mom got mad, and made me turn it into a ton of Learning Books for you?" Alyce peered threw one eye, looking to see if Bella had somehow heard her. But she still lay, sleeping like a rock.

"I bet now, I could make you something." Alyce strained to lift up her right arm. She brung her palms together, trying to think of something Bella might like. "You're so girly....yet I have no idea what to make..."

Alyce brung her palms down to rest on her stomach. She would have to wait until tomorrow to make her something. Alyce was just about ready to go to sleep, she let out a huge yawn, suddenly a hand plopping over it.

As quick as lighting, Alyce brought her left arm up, grabbing onto the arm of the mysterious person, claws digging into their skin. A muffled groan escaped into the air.

"Let go!" Came a harsh whisper. "It's me, Pietro!"

_What?_ Alyce quickly sat up, wincing as more pain radiated threw her. _Pietro? _Quickly, Alyce looked behind her. Bella still sleeping. Alyce was beginning to think she could sleep through the end of the world. "What are you doing here?" Alyce harshly whispered toward the direction of his voice.

"I just came to check on you and---whoa...." Pietro appeared, his face full of curiosity.

Alyce sighed, and quickly covered Bella with a blanket. "What?"

"Wait...you're....is that your girlfriend?"

Alyce knew it. She just knew it. If it wasn't John or Remy, it was going to be Pietro. It had happened before in the past, why? She had no idea. "No, that's my cousin...."

Pietro widened his eyes, shaking his head. "Right. Sleeping with you."

"We're close."

"Sure."

Alyce glared at Pietro with a fury. He gave her a charming smile, then pointing to his arm. "I'm bleeding you know."

"Sorry." Alyce murmured, she pulled Pietro close to her, and used the hem of her shirt to press down on Pietro's arm. "Next time, don't cover my mouth like you're going to kill me."

"Not like you can't take care of yourself. How are you doing? I see you got bandaged up."

"Yea, couple of broken bones as well." Alyce peeled back her shirt from Pietro's arm looking at it. "It's not too deep. Sorry, again."

Pietro plastered a sad look on his face, he sat down next to Alyce, carefully as to not wake up the girl who slept. "I kept coming back here, every couple of days to see if you were here. Then Kitty told Avalanche you were recovering, so I didn't worry."

"How'd you find out I was up and alive?"

"That girl, Kitty. She can talk so much, she just spills information like she's a pot with holes. You really should warn her, she could give up some important details about your team."

Alyce crossed her legs. "So you came here to be evil, huh?"

"Honestly, no. I came here to give you this..."

"Huh?" Alyce looked up, but Pietro had disappeared. But as soon as she had blinked again, he was back next to her. She looked down at what he was holding, a big bunch of blue roses.

"They match your eyes...."

Alyce chuckled. "Are you serious?"

Pietro looked at the flowers that he held onto. "What is there something wrong? Or is it too weird. You were in really bad shape, after the fight with Magma. Coughing up blood on my leather interior seats." Pietro smiled, placing the bouquet of flowers into Alyce's arms. "I didn't know what else to get you, seeing as how I don't know you so well."

Alyce blushed, bringing the roses up to her nose. "They smell awesome. This is kind of embarrassing, but it's the first time someone has given me flowers."

"Really?" Pietro's ego shooting threw the roof. "It's a shame. What about that kid?"

"John? We talked earlier."

"Still a jerk?"

Alyce stood quiet. She leaned over and placed the flowers on her night stand. "We don't need to talk about that."

"You're right. Sorry."

"It's ok...."

An awkward silence fell into the room, Bella's light snoring seeming louder. Pietro got up from the bed and stretched, pushing his headphones into his ears. "Also, be careful. I know you're still healing up, so I won't be doing anything stupid. But just because Avalanche and I like you and Kitty.....well, Dominikos likes Kitty more than me, doesn't mean nothing is going to happen."

"With the Brotherhood?"

"It's nice to know that you understand." Pietro walked to the window, opening it up. "You know if you wanted, you could just come with me. Then you wouldn't have to worry. But I know you won't."

"So, am I going to get a heads up when I might die again?"

Pietro casted his gaze away from Alyce, a pang of sadness washed over him. "I...honestly don't know. Magma...Allison. She's still alive. And she's looking for you, Alyce. Just be careful...."

Alyce nodded her head.

"Alyce?" Murmured, Bella. Alyce looked down at her cousin who sleepily wiped her eyes with her hands. She looked back up, but Pietro had already gone, the curtains swaying with the the small breeze he made.

"Yea, Bella?"

"Sleep...tomorrow we're going to have fun. Ok?"

"Alright, Bellz." Alyce got up and closed the window to her bedroom. She slipped herself under the covers, Bella snuggling up next to her. Her eyes caught the blue roses that still lay on her bedside table.

They seemed more like a death warning, than an actual gift.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: I'm trying to hold on, Bella!

Alyce had the notes of a poorly strummed guitar song stuck in her head. She took in a deep breath, opening her eyes. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, turning her head to see what Bella was up too. A small smile played on Alyce's face as she watched Bella try her best to play out ' Mary Had A Little Lamb.'

"You know, if this is how you play, no one would ever need a alarm clock."

Bella jumped, looking over to Alyce. She let out a small laugh, frowning. "So, then you play. You know I was never good. I'm the singer."

Alyce let out a big yawn, her body just wanting more sleep. Lazily, she rolled onto her back. "Did you go get something to eat?"

"Yup.." Bella answered, still trying to strum the notes on the guitar. "I was with Remy. I know you like to sleep, so that's why I didn't wake you."

"Damn right I like to sleep." Alyce grumbled. She slowly sat up in her bed, slipping her legs out from under the covers. She placed her hand on the bedside draw. The flowers....where had they gone? "Bella, there where flowers here..."

Bella set down the guitar on the bed. "Yea, I put them in a vase and put them next to the window. They're really nice. Who gave them too you?"

"A friend..." Alyce commented, getting up and making her way to the bathroom to wash her face. She turned on the water, letting it get a bit warm as she checked her bandages. She just wanted to get out of them already. It was just troublesome when she had a itch. Alyce picked on her arm bandages with a disgust. If Allison really came back, she was going to rough her up big time.

"I'm letting you slide with getting dressed today. But because of that, you have to go to class today." Bella called from the bedroom.

"_Great..."_Alyce thought to herself. She placed her left hand under the warm water, splashing it on her face. She hadn't seen the team for two weeks. Excluding Remy. And knowing Bella, she would want to sit in all of her classes with her. Probably even cheer her on in the Danger Room. Not like anything like that was going to happen. "Dream big." Alyce called back to her cousin, as she began to brush her teeth.

"Blah blah blah! Alyce, you need to get out there and socialize. Stop being so anti-social. They all miss you!"

"I'm not anti social!" Alyce called with a mouth full of frothy toothpaste. "I just choose to remain silent."

"Same thing! Don't worry, I'll sit with you in every class."

Alyce groaned. "_I told you so." _She said to herself with a grimace. Alyce walked out and began to pick clothes from her dresser. "Bella, I'm just not ready to show my face to them. I don't want them asking me questions..."

"So then don't answer them." Bella shrugged and began to fix her honey blond hair. "What? Is it John?"

"No, I spoke to him last night..."

"OH! Do tell!"

"It was nothing." Alyce mumbled, pulling a shirt over her head. "He just said sorry for how he was, and he worried."

Bella smiled, hugging herself. "That's so sweet. Did you guys kiss?"

Alyce fixed her shirt, giving Bella a stern glare. "To change the topic of this conversation, I'm not going to class."

Bella rolled her eyes. Typical Alyce to not share the most intimate of feelings. "Fine, don't share any details with me. But you are going..."

No matter if she convinced Bella or not, she would still get dragged to where ever Bella wanted to go. Once she was hellbent on something, it had to happen. And people called Alyce stubborn. Alyce plopped herself on her bed, slipping her legs into a pair of dark jeans.

"The way I am with you, Bella, I don't act anything like that with them. I'm not ready for them to see me. Like, how I am with you. They don't need to see that side of me yet." She turned around to look at Bella, who was busy trying on different rings.

Bella let out a sigh. None of these rings was matching with her shoes. She decided on a light purple gemstone ring. It did match with the stripes in her shirts. She looked over to Alyce, who had began to put on her sneakers. "I understand Alyce. I know how you are. It's like being with two different people. I'll do the talking for you!"

"Right....Go get me some food or something."

Bella sucked her teeth. "No, go get it yourself, lazy. Just because you're a bit hurt, doesn't mean you can't walk around."

Alyce laid back on the bed, covering her face with her hands. "Bella...pleaseeeeeeeee?"

"No."

"Puh-leeeesee!"

Bella chuckled. It was a shame that the X-Team couldn't get to see the side of Alyce that she got too. It was hilarious. Maybe with time, they would be able to see the other side of Alyce. "I'll go. Fine. Just fix up your hair. Leave it down."

Alyce grew stern. She took her hands off her face. "No. Don't try to make me into a prom queen. I like my hair up."

"I'm getting you food.....if you don't then....I'll have Kitty come here to help you dress next time."

"NO! Ok, fine. You win."

Bella giggled as she ran out the door to head to the kitchen to get breakfast for Alyce. She had just gotten to the stair case and began to go down, when she caught the eye of someone waiting at the foot of the steps.

"Is Alyce coming to class?"

"Ummm yea." Who was this guy? Brown hair, slicked back, a rebel look to him. Bella quickly glanced at his hands, a lighter in his hands. "Oh, you must be John."

John didn't want to ask how she knew him. She just looked like the type that would get into spontaneous conversation. Maybe it was the blond hair, that made her seem that way.

"Ummmm. How do you know, that I know Alyce?"

"Remy told me." John bit his lip. "Look, I better get going." Before she could answer, John turned his back and began to walk away. He got almost got three feet before a pair of small hands grabbed his arm. He turned out, looking back at Alyce's cousin.

"You better not be a jerk..." Bella scowled, letting go of John's arm. "Alyce is really nervous about coming back to the team....but...don't tell her I said that."

"Whatever." John mumbled, getting ready to walk away, but Bella stopped him again.

"I'm serious. If you be mean to her, I'm going to kick you where the sun doesn't shine. And trust me, I used to play soccer in school, so I have a mean kick."

John looked at Bella wide eyed. She was pretty daring to be speaking to a mutant like that. "Yea, that's nice. We'll see how that goes when your pretty blond hair gets burnt." He pulled his arm back to his side, but once again Bella got in his face.

"Yea, well...I know how to use a fire extinguisher."

John raised his hands in the air. There was just no winning with this girl. He gave her a stern look. He just didn't know what to say. Growling, he turned his back and walked off. And this time, Bella didn't try to stop him.

"Scaredy-Cat!" She suddenly called out.

John stopped in his tracks and clenched his fists. He turned around, getting ready to say something, but Bella had run off, giggling.

It was really going to be something else to have this girl hanging around with Alyce. How Alyce dealt with her, John couldn't fathom. It was weird just thinking they were related at all.

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A/N: Anyone else loving the Bella/John confrontation? She's going to be on him like white on rice lol.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: It's almost easy

Alyce decided to suck it up, and stop being such a baby. Well, according to Bella, that's what she had to do. Feeling defeated, Alyce sulked her way threw the hallways, following Bella. Normally, Alyce would love going to art. But having Bella with her made everything different. Having Bella with her, with the X-Team was different.

"We're early!" Bella called out to Alyce. "We can grab a seat in the back."

Alyce groaned her agreement, deciding to slow down even more. She watched as Bella walked into the class, disappearing. Now, would be an awesome time to run away. To go back to her room, and play guitar, or to just continue sleeping. But dealing with Bella afterward, would be troublesome. Also, it wasn't helping that her hair was let loose. With each passing breeze her hair would swish around. She felt so stupid. But according to Bella, it looked "fabulous".

"Ah! _Guten Tag!"_

Alyce looked up as she approached the art room door. A big smile played on her face. "Hey, ."

Kurt Wagner, The Night Crawler. One of the most sweetest teachers in this entire institute. He was always full of wonderful stories, of when he spent his time in the circus. It was a shame no one ever listened. Alyce had made a point to listen. Took 5 hours for the entire story, but a story nonetheless.

"Please, _Fräulein_, you know to call me Kurt. I haven't seen you in class for a long, long time. I've missed your art. How are you doing? The Professor told us what happened to you." Kurt placed a blue hand on Alyce's shoulder, smiling.

One thing about Kurt, was when he got to start talking he didn't stop. But he was a caring character. Other students dreaded his art class, for the simple fact that his thick German accent was too hard to understand. But that wasn't a problem for Alyce, she had spoken with him on many occasions.

"I'm fine. So what's on the agenda today?"

"_Ja,_ the agenda. Water Colours." Kurt ushered Alyce into the class excitedly. "By the way, do you know who that girl is?" Kurt looked at Alyce, shifting his eyes in Bella's direction. "I've never seen her."

Alyce looked over to where Bella sat. Already she was playing with the various art materials around the room. "That's my cousin, Bella. She's going to be with me in classes."

"Ah! _Wunderbar!_" Kurt exclaimed. He smiled and waved over to Bella, who waved back. He began to write something on the board with great speed. Most likely, today's lesson. Alyce made her way to the back of the class, sitting at one of the many easels that lay across the room.

"The miracle you picked a good seat?" Alyce questioned to Bella, as she sat down.

"I just know how....isolated you like to be from the universe." Bella joked. "I'm so looking forward to this. I've always wanted to learn water colour."

"It's easy..." Alyce answered, opening up little pots of different coloured paints. "All you need is a wet brush, and an imagination." She pulled a small brush from a cup and dipped it in the water. "But, you might need to sketch out yours with pencil.....cause...you kinda suck."

Bella laughed, play punching Alyce on her shoulder. "Thanks, you're so encouraging."

Alyce laughed along with Bella, her smile soon fading as she saw the door open. Her heart dropped down into her stomach, and her body grew icy cold. She was nervous. The X-Team was coming in.

Bella shuddered, hugging herself to try to warm up her arms. "Alyce...you're nervous. Stop it, because I'm cold." She nudged Alyce, trying to get her attention. She had seen Alyce using her mutant power, but her being nervous was by far the worse. Bella hated being cold.

"Sorry..." Alyce mumbled as she began fiddling with the paints in front of her. "Just give me a minute."

"Well, any more of a minute and I'm going to freeze to death." Bella mumbled threw chattering teeth. "Just close your eyes, and think of something else."

Obeying, Alyce did so. "_Think of the beach. The beach Alyce....nice and warm.....no...I hate the beach."_ Alyce groaned. She wasn't good at these types of things.

"What's wrong with you?" Came another voice.

"I'm cold..." Was the first thing that popped out of Alyce's mouth. She looked up to John, who smiled.

"Well, I'm not a Pyro for nothing." He walked behind Alyce and enveloped her into a hug, he clicked his lighter on, holding his hands out in front of Alyce. A small flame bounced into his palms and grew bigger. "If you needed to get warm, you should've told me."

Alyce blushed, already feeling the heat flush back to her cheeks. "It's not me whose cold. Bella is."

John placed his chin on Alyce's head, looking over to Bella, who chattered. He decided on ignoring what he just heard. Only because Bella was so mean to him earlier. "Scaredy-Cat, huh?"

Alyce looked at Bella with a questioning look. _"You're at it again, aren't you?"_ The look read.

Bella rolled her eyes. "_He's a jerk."_

John sighed and let go of Alyce. "Well, I'm going to go sit." John glanced his way over to Remy, who was busy giving him a questioning glare. Right, he didn't want John touching Alyce. He patted Alyce's shoulder, giving her another smile before he disappeared to his seat.

"I thought you said, he wasn't the lovey dovey type?" Bella asked, clinging onto Alyce who was warm.

Alyce looked as John sat down, already cursing under his breath upon hearing Kurt speak. "I thought so too."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bella was happy. She had managed to paint out a nice looking cat. Well, it sort of looked like a cat. To Alyce it looked like a flower. But Bella was the artist, and if she said it was a cat, then it was a cat. Bella smiled to herself as she continued painting with her brush. So far, everything was going nice.

Except for one thing. And that one thing's name was, Jubilee.

Bella had noticed that every couple or so minutes, she would catch Jubilee glaring at Alyce. And she would even get up to go to the back of the classroom, whilst pretending to get supplies she would mumble things to Alyce.

But Alyce never said anything back. Why? Bella had no idea. Maybe she enjoyed art _that much._

"Oh, that's awesome!" Bella smiled, leaning her chin on Alyce's shoulder. "It's better than my....flower, cat hybrid."

Alyce smiled, patting her brush on the canvas. She was finishing up a scene of a Japanese temple and she was liking how it was coming out. "I didn't think I could get the grooves in the roof right, but I think it's pretty good." Alyce made sure to keep her voice low, she didn't want anyone to notice her acting different.

Bella lifted her head up, again catching Jubilee. "Alyce, that girl. That has to be Jubilee. She's glaring at you."

Alyce let out a small chuckle. "You and me both, actually. Remy has only been talking about you for ever. She thinks you're going to steal him from her."

"Oh! They go out?!"

"For....ages now. She thought the same thing about me too. Just ignore her." Alyce took this time to begin praying. Praying that Bella would just agree and continue painting. If there was a God, then Bella would listen.

Bella growled. "Alyce, I don't like how she's looking at you. You told me she used to prank you...why haven't you gotten even."

"Getting even with her, isn't on my agenda. Something will happen eventually. She doesn't prank me anymore though, just sit...please?"

Bella looked at Alyce, a pleading look on her face. "Fine....but seriously. If she keeps up....you know I don't care she's a mutant. I can still take her on."

Alyce took in a deep breath, looking at her cousin with a angry look. "I don't need you fighting for me, Bella. Now just shut up, and paint."

"Ok ok, sorry sorry." Bella sat back up in her seat. Maybe this time, for once, she would just listen to Alyce. She was beginning to paint whiskers on her so called cat, when she noticed Jubilee getting up and making her way to the back.

"_Just ignore it, Bella..."_ Bella thought to herself. Maybe Jubilee actually needed some supplies.

Alyce, on the other hand. Was still praying. And she was praying hard. She caught a whiff of Jubilee's perfume as she walked by to the back, yet again.

"Heh, guess you aren't so tough." Jubilee murmured, this time actually leaning toward Alyce's ear. "By the way, nice Shoji Temple."

"It is a nice Temple. You really should get off my shoulder."

"Should I? After you got beat up by some girl, I don't think you should be talking so big."

Bella growled. Her cousin was a tough girl, she was just being tolerant of Jubilee. She so knew Alyce could clean the floor with Jubilee if she wanted too. "Why don't you just, shut up?!" Bella suddenly spoke, getting up from her seat.

"_Oh...no."_ Alyce thought. Jubilee looked up towards Bella, a smirk on her face.

"Who are you? Some ditzy blonde family member of Alyce?"

Alyce got up, quickly pushing Jubilee back and standing in front of Bella. But Bella pushed her way back in front of Alyce. "She's my cousin, why don't you just go back to your seat, huh? If Alyce wanted too, she could kill you."

Alyce groaned. By now, the whole classes attention was shifted to the back of the class room.

"Why are you even overreacting? I was only talking to Alyce. You should mind your business!"

"Should I? What are you going to do if I don't, huh?" Bella growled, placing her hands on her hips, sticking her nose in the air. "If you ask me, you look like can't do anything."

Jubilee laughed. "You think I can't. You wanna see?"

"Sure, why not!"

By now, Remy had made his way to Jubilee pushing her back. "_Mon Cheri, _Remy thinks you should calm down."

"Calm down?" Jubilee questioned, looking more angry as Remy pushed her back. "You sticking up for her because you like her?"

Alyce let out a loud sigh. She grabbed Bella by her arm and pushed her back. "You need to stop."

"Me? Alyce, how can you let her talk to you like that!"

"It's true!" John suddenly called out. He smirked, knowing Alyce was going to hate him for that. And he was right, as she turned her head and gave him a death glare. "Tell her, Bella!" He laughed. This was comedy gold to him. Maybe this Bella girl was someone he could learn to like.

"Remy thinks you aren't helping."

John laughed, his face turning red. It was just too funny.

Jubilee took this as the perfect time to get even, while everyone was distracted. She didn't need some stupid girl speaking to her like that. She lit up a spark, and flicked it toward Bella. The spark made a small explosion, landing on the floor making a loud cracking noise, getting Bella to push herself into Alyce's arms.

"Big talk! Look at you now!"

Alyce held onto Bella with a firm hand. "Don't....Bella..."

"I'm not scared of you, just because you're a mutant!"

Before Alyce could register what was going on, Bella had lifted her cat painted canvas in the air, getting ready to throw it straight at Jubilee. Alyce tried to catch it, but it was already too late. The canvas was in mid-flight, straight to Jubilee.

Deciding that he had enough of a laugh, John got up from his seat, just in time to grab the flying painting. He looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "Is this a.....what the hell is _this _supposed to be?"

"Did you just try to throw that at me?!" Jubilee screamed, getting lifted over Remy's shoulder and out of the class room.

"I DID!" Bella shouted back, being held onto by Alyce.

Kurt made his way to the back of class, placing a hand on Alyce's shoulder. "Do you mind, if I handle her?"

Alyce let out a sigh. "Sure, go ahead."

"What? Handle what? I'm fin--" Kurt grabbed Bella's hand, giving a small salute to Alyce, then teleported himself, and Bella to another side of the school. Most likely, The Professors office. Alyce took in a deep breath. All of that, did not just happen. It really didn't. She turned around, walking over to John and snatching the canvas back, putting it back on the easel.

"Did you have to do that?" She mumbled over to John, who had begun laughing again.

"Hey, what your cousin said was right. You really should defend yourself when it comes to Jubilee."

Alyce shook her head. "You two are alike. Stubborn and sometimes stupid. You're going to do nothing but clash with each other."

John smiled, patting Alyce on her back. "If there's more canvas throwing, then I'm game."

Bobby had made his way to the pair as they spoke. What had happened, was a bit funny. But he was never one for meaningless fighting. He looked at Alyce, her face red. She caught his eye, and he smiled, waving.

"Welcome back, Alyce."

_____________________________________________________

**Glossary _vom_ Night Crawler**

**Vom**_- _of the

**Wunderbar-**Wonderful

**Fräulein**_- _Lady

**Ja**_- _Yes

**Guten Tag**- Hello


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Cold Fish

Bella chewed her food quietly. "I'm sorry, Alyce."

Alyce nodded, taking a sip from her soda. "You know, normally, I would be sitting with the team. But since Jubilee is still mad, I decided to take you outside to eat."

Bella casted her gaze back to her food. She picked at her salad idly, still not knowing what to say. Alyce still looked a bit annoyed, but Alyce's face always looked the same. So was she always annoyed? Bella giggled a bit, getting Alyce to snap her head up.

"What's funny?" She asked, swishing her soda cup around.

"Are you still mad? I'm really sorry, Alyce. But that girl! I think if I lived here with you, I would get into so many fights."

Alyce nodded. "You would. It's not that I'm mad at you. More over at Jubilee for speaking that way to you, then using her powers. If she would've hurt you, I would've went crazy. You just need to learn to calm down."

"You mean, level-headed, don't you. I knew what I was doing, but I guess I didn't think Jubilee would snap at me with her glitter."

Alyce let out a laugh. "Her glitter?"

"Yea!" Bella giggled. "Her powers, they look like firecrackers filled with glitter. I should invite her to my next party. Save some money on entertainment."

Alyce finished up her soda, setting the cup down on the grassy floor. "Where did Kurt take you?"

".God." Bella rolled her eyes. "He teleported me to another classroom. After throwing up, you know, I never got teleported somewhere before, he sits me down and tells me the longest story, ever. I will never pick a fight in his class. Ever. Again."

A hearty chuckle bubbled it's way up Alyce's throat. "That's what you get!" Alyce laughed. "His stories are awesome."

"Right, sure they are...." Sarcasm dripping in Bella's voice.

The pair got up,making their way back into the Mansion to throw out their plates and cups. A few people had heard about Bella's canvas fight. A few of them even stopping and saluting Bella, as if she was a Lieutenant. And Bella was enjoying it.

"You see, maybe if you would've done, people would be doing the same to you."

"I'll pass." Alyce mumbled. "We need to go to the infirmary, my bandages need to be changed."

"Oh right!" Bella beamed. "I totally forgot." She linked arms with Alyce, leading her to a nearby elevator. "The downstairs level looks so creepy. Like something out of a creepy movie. You know, you still have to let me see you in your uniform."

Alyce stepped into the elevator, moving to the side as a few other students crowded in. "You can see, when I get better enough to so training."

"Awww c'mon! I've always wanted to see you in tight leather!"

Alyce stood wide eyed, smiling nervously at the students who had turned around upon hearing Bella. The elevator was just taking too long to get to the lower levels....a bit too long. After what seemed like forever, the doors opened. The students chuckling as Bella hooked arms with Alyce and lead her to the infirmary.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Alyce asked, looking over to her cousin who was smiling like a devil.

"I sure did."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jean slowly unwrapped the bandages on Alyce's arm. "Are you excited?" Jean asked.

Alyce nodded. "To use my right hand again, sure. I just want to get back into the training room."

A frown suddenly plastered itself on Jean's face. "Even if the bandages are off, you can't just get back in. I'm sure your arm is rigid, from not moving it. Then, there's your mid section. Any sort of sudden movement is going to cause your muscles to cramp up. So you're going to need to so some exercise, to get them used to sudden movements."

Alyce looked at her arm as the rest of the bandages were taken off. Her arm looked good as new, no scars or anything. Gently, Alyce touched her arm with her other hand. "I need to put some lotion on my arm, stat."

Jean let out a laugh. "Yea, and some sun too, just to get the colour back. But other than that it looks great. So when do you want to schedule the training exercise?" Jean motioned for Alyce to lay on her side, and she did. Jean lifted up Alyce's shirt and began removing the bandages from her side. She motioned for Alyce to lay flat on her back and she did so.

"You mean, physical therapy?" Alyce asked, her eyes looking for her cousin. Who was oddly remaining very quiet.

"Yes, it'll either be me or Logan, since he has the most free time. Are you still having trouble walking?"

Alyce winced, as Jeans warm hands touched her cold skin. Jean pressed down lightly on Alyce's side. "Just a bit. If I stand for too long I can feel a pain in my side. Also if I sit for too long, I keep having to shift. Sometimes, I'll have to limp, it's like a traveling pain, it goes down my leg."

"Hmmm. I see. Well it's healed up just fine. A scar from incision, but that's it. Are you doing the breathing exercises I told you about?"

Alyce chuckled. "Yea, but honestly, I would rather just have some pain killers."

Jean chuckled along. "I wish I could give them to you. But your father said no. He said you could handle it."

"I'm not surprised that he said that."

Jean smiled, as she helped Alyce up, removing the rest of the bandages from around Alyce's mid section. "If you're wondering, Bella went outside to talk to the team. Today, everyone is getting their yearly shots. Typical doctor work." Jean walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out two needles.

"Surprisingly, you need them too."

"Ode to joy." Alyce smiled. She wasn't scared of needles, but getting a shot was a bit uncomfortable.

"You're not scared of needles right?"

"No, why?"

Jean chuckled as she made her way to Alyce and began cleaning her inner arm with a swab of cotton. "Remy, he is terrified of them. Having him get his shots is such hard work. Last year, he almost cried."

Alyce let out a laugh. "Poor, Remy."

"Yea, we end up just having to distract him with something. He still has the mind of a kid."

The door to the Infirmary swished open, the team walking in. Bella following just behind them, talking to Kitty.

"_Mon Cheri_, the lovely doctor Grey. No shots for Remy today?"

Alyce fixed her shirt and hopped off the table massaging her right arm. She looked at Remy, his face pleading.

"Remy...we go through this every year..."

"_S'il vous plaît, non!_" Remy pleaded, he turned to Piotr, the nearest next to him, and threw his arms over him, a huge sounding sob escaping from Remy. "The strong Colossus will protect Remy?"

Piotr, looking around for help, awkwardly hugged Remy, patting his back. "You will be fine." He spoke.

John made his way toward Alyce, who was looking at her arm. He took a giant step, trying to get his uniform to not be so tight, but like the many other times he tried, it hadn't worked. "How's your arm?" He asked, standing in close to Alyce.

"It's fine, a bit stiff. It hurts if I move it around too much."

"No training for you, huh?" John asked, already knowing the answer. He gently took Alyce's arm in his hands, squeezing it lightly. "You know, you still haven't told me the whole story."

"I told you the gist of it."

"If you tell me, I can go get the girl who did it and give them a good fight."

"It's fine. You don't need too."

John let go of Alyce's arm. "Ok, fine." John took in a deep breath. He needed to relax. Just a few minutes ago, while standing outside, Bella had told him, again, to be nice. He didn't want to get hit with a baseball bat _or _a flying canvas, and who else knew what that crazy girl had up her sleeve.

"I'll talk to you later then..." John spoke threw gritted teeth.

Alyce wanted to stop him, to tell him. But he walked away, leaving the infirmary. And no one noticed. Alyce leaned back on the examination table, holding onto her arm. "_I'm sorry, John."_ Alyce spoke to herself. But what else was she sorry for? Alyce bit her lip. Maybe it had something to do with Pietro....

"Alyce! Ooo, let me see your arm!" Bella came over, she stuck out her finger and began poking Alyce's pale arm. "You need lotion."

"No, duh." Alyce smiled. "Let's go?"

"Not yet, Remy needs me to hold his hand."

Alyce shot a look over to Jubilee, who was leaning on a near by table. "But.."

Bella smiled. "Have some faith in me will you?"

"No....I'm going to head out of here. Take a walk outside. I won't be here to rescue you."

"It's ok! No trouble, I promise." Bella stuck out her pinky finger, and Alyce hooked her pinky finger with Bella's. "Promise, Promise. Where are you going to go anyway?"

"For a drive? I don't know." Alyce gave her cousin a hug, and walked over to Kitty. She needed Avalanche's phone number. She needed to talk to Pietro.

She needed to set some things straight.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Downward Spiral

Alyce leaned on the old car she had taken from the Mansion's Garage. The air was getting cooler by the minute, and it wasn't because she was nervous. Alyce looked up to the sky, the clouds turning gray. She was going to ask herself the same question she had been thinking about. "_What am I doing?"_ She still hadn't found an answer, she still didn't know what she was going to tell Pietro when he got there.

Truth was, he should've been here before her. Most likely he was driving in his car, just to show off. He did sound surprised to hear her call. So why not come here faster? Alyce looked back up to the sky, she hoped it would rain. She loved the rain. It was oddly soothing, yet some how still vicious. Alyce turned her head, hearing a car coming down the road.

But it wasn't Pietro.

Alyce sighed. Maybe parking on the side of the road was a bad idea. But she didn't want to meet him, in a place like a coffee house. She didn't even like coffee. Another car roared past her. But it still wasn't Pietro. Maybe this was a sign, for her to turn back. To forget everything she had wanted to say. Alyce got up and began to open the drivers side door, when a loud honk startled her.

"I'm here, calm down!" Came a yell. The car zoomed up toward her, screeching to a halt. Pietro got out quickly, taking the keys out of the ignition and placing them in his, very expensive looking, leather jacket.

"What's up? Everything ok?" He even seemed genuinely concerned. Or was what just a ploy?

"I'm fine...I thought you would get here a bit...you know. Faster?"

Pietro laughed. "I like to drive my car. Sorry, I took long. I stopped to get gas. So, you look better from the last time I saw you..."

"I am...I just wanted to talk to you..."

Pietro placed a hand on Alyce's car. It was surprising enough that she had called him. Even more surprising that she wanted to meet. What was happening, he had no idea. He had no idea what to expect. Maybe she was going to express her undying love for him. He had gotten that a lot from most girls. Pietro looked at Alyce with a concerned face.

"Alright, if you're feeling cautious over what I told you at the movie theater, then I understand. I can wait here as long as you like, until you're ready to talk."

"It's not that. I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to place my words."

"Just spit it out."

Alyce sighed looking over at Pietro. "I want to join the Brotherhood."

Pietro let out a cough, totally taken a back. "What?" He managed to sputter out.

"I know you heard me just fine. I can't go with you now, but...after my cousin leaves. I don't want her to worry."

What the fuck was going on? That was the only question Pietro had in his mind. "Is it opposite day or something?"

Alyce looked down at her sneakers. "No, it isn't. I know this must be surprising." Was this right? Was she really doing the right thing? A million questions where hitting her and she had no answer for any of them.

"May I ask why?" Pietro finally asked, after a moment of silence. He looked as Alyce pondered. She seemed down right confused. Was she drunk? That could be a probability. Finally, Alyce let out a sharp exhale.

"I don't know why, really. I need time to think. I guess you can say it has something to do with John. I need to be away from that team for a while. I was pushed into it. You can say, I'm not ready to do the right thing, when it comes to being a mutant." Alyce looked over to Pietro and smiled. "That team, they value the family thing. Do things together, agree with each other. I'm all for that, it sounds nice. But now, it doesn't."

"You just sound confused." Pietro took his spot next to Alyce, leaning on the car. "I don't know much about you though, so I'm guessing your reasons for doing this are justified."

"I guess I am confused. But trying to be alone in that Mansion isn't easy. There's always someone trying to find you. To see what's wrong. I can't think there."

"And how does that boy play into this, John?"

Alyce bit her lip. "I don't know. He tries to care for me, I can see that. But...I guess I'm not used to that when it comes from someone other than my family. I just don't know."

Pietro pulled Alyce into his arms, holding her in a hug. "You're just plagued with too many feelings that you can't handle. I bet, being over there is tough. Maybe even sometimes down right annoying. Just hearing my father speak about Charles makes me angry. But, I don't think you really want to join us. Not just yet. Remember, Alison is still here." Pietro took in a breath, nothing Alyce had remained quiet.

"You need to really think about this. Right now, you're acting out of emotion, not out of knowledge. Give it until your cousin leaves, to really think about this. Joining us, means betraying them. And when we go to fight them, it means you'll be fighting the people you know. They will call you a traitor."

Alyce continued to let herself be hugged. Everything Pietro was saying however, was true. She listened as his heart beat fast. Even though he was speaking normally, she could tell his whole body was pulsating with speed. She gently pulled away from Pietro's hug.

"Pietro..."

"Alyce?"

"Thank you..."

Pietro let out a smile, placing his hands on Alyce's shoulder. "You're welcome. When does your cousin leave?"

"When I get better. I'm still hurting from my injuries. But I did get my bandages taken off."

"That sounds awesome. So, you have plenty of time to think."

Part of him wanted to just drag her back home with him. But it just wouldn't be right. Not with her feeling confused. He liked her. He was going to admit it to himself again. A part of him was just smug, knowing she had come to him. Another part of him loved that John was going to be feeling like shit, if she did join. And another part of him was going to feel sorry for John. In a couple of weeks, Alyce was going to be with him.

Pietro didn't want to get his hopes up. Maybe she wouldn't even join. He stuck out his hand in the air, a small rain drop splashing into it. "It's starting to rain, maybe you should go." Pietro really didn't want her to go. It was nice being alone with her.

"I like the rain. Can you stay for a little while longer?"

Pietro nodded. "Sure."

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	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Butterflies and Hurricanes

Bella was confused. Very confused. She just didn't know what to do. What to decide on. Did she want an omelet for breakfast, or a bagel? She bit her lip, placing her hands on her hips, looking at the food selection in front of her. It was always breakfast, that she had trouble picking something out to eat.

Her stomach let out a gargle. "Calm down, you." Bella murmured, placing her hands on her stomach. "Bleh, fine." She decided that, if she couldn't figure out what to eat, then nothing will be picked. She grabbed an apple juice and made her way out of the kitchen to find a table. Bella had been on her own for the past two days. Alyce was just cooped up in her room, sleeping for the entire day and staying up all night playing her guitar. When she ate, Bella had no idea. She had tried bringing her food, but she would shun it away. Even when she tried to eat it, she would just throw it back up.

Ever since she had come back from going out of the Mansion, she just wasn't her self. It didn't take a genius to know she wasn't ok. But the rest of the team, thought nothing of it. But Bella knew better. Bella shook the bottle of apple juice and began to try to twist the cap. But to no avail. It just would not open.

"Oh, so you're going to be like that, huh?" Bella placed the bottle of juice on the table, glaring at it.

"You're going to open..." She mumbled. Bella grabbed the bottle of juice with strength, but still it wouldn't open. Finally, giving up, she placed it back on the table. She turned the bottle around, as to avoid looking at the triumphant Apple that was pictured on the front.

"Your greatest enemy? That's pretty sad."

Bella rolled her eyes, completely ignoring John's voice. She looked the other direction, pretending to be interest in a nearby trash can. "Are you it's side-kick? Little Apple Boy Wonder?"

"Little Boy...Fire...Wonder, sounds more better." John chuckled as he sat down across from Bella. He took the bottle in his hands, and with one quick turn, it was open.

"Was that so hard? You blonde's really are stupid."

Bella snatched the juice from John's hands, glaring at him. "For your information, it's honey blonde."

"Whatever that means.."

Bella took a sip of her juice. She set it down, closing the top. "So what are you doing awake early? You don't look like a morning person."

"I'm not. I just came to see if Alyce would be around. Haven't seen her." John yawned, putting his head down on the table. Bella looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're weird."

"Mmhmmm." John muffled. He sat up, taking off his sweater. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go back to sleep." Bella watched as John placed his head back down, placing his sweater over his head to shield the light away.

Bella glared at the lump of sleepiness that was John. He was just as hard to open as the bottle of juice. How long would it take him to just sit down and say he was worried about Alyce? Bella could tell that's what he wanted to ask. So why didn't he? Bella grabbed her bottle of juice, and rest her chin on the top of the bottle. This was what was the matter with these tough guys. Bella would know, she had dated a few. And by the first week, she had gotten them to break down their feelings.

"_Operation: FireLight in progress..."_ Bella thought to herself.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Bobby walked out of the kitchen with a plate full of eggs and bacon. It was all he needed for breakfast. He took a big forkful of eggs and shoveled it into his mouth as he walked around to find a table. He was just about to sit down, when he spotted Bella. Her chin resting on a bottle, and a lump of a person sitting across from her.

"_I hadn't introduced myself..."_ Bobby thought. He could either, sit by himself and enjoy his food, or go introduce himself to the hothead named Bella. He set down his fork on his plate and made his way to the table. He hoped nothing would come flying his way.

"Hi, you're Bella?" Bobby cautiously put down his plate. He was ready to start running if the table began to fly.

Bella looked up to the voice. Dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes. She had seen him with Rogue, that girl with the white streak in her hair. "You're Bobby?"

"Yup. Is this seat taken?"

"No! Go right ahead. I needed someone to talk to, this good for nothing over here...is good for nothing."

Bobby looked over at the lump next to him. "John?" He asked, picking up more food with his fork.

"Yea. He helped me open my juice then went right to sleep." Bella looked over at Bobby. Wasn't this the guy of the X-Team? The one Alyce had said wanted to kick her off? A little bubble of anger grew in Bella. But she took in a deep breath. Did she have some underlying anger issues? Trying to distract herself from being angry, Bella took a sip of her juice.

"So how's Alyce? I haven't seen her since she was in the infirmary. I hope she's ok."

"_So you can kick her off the team?"_ Bella thought, but bit her tongue. "Well, lately...I don't know she hasn't been herself. I can tell."

"Really? She seemed fine to me."

"Well, she left to go out for a ride, that day she got her bandages off. And when she came back, I could tell something was wrong with her. But she isn't telling me anything....but...don't tell her I said that." Bella let out a chuckle. "Alyce doesn't like others knowing about her problems. I can just tell because I've been with her for all my life, pretty much."

Bobby let out a chuckle. "That's nice. How was she when she was younger?"

"The same way." Bella laughed. "I guess how you guys see her, is way different from how she is with me. She's just like that. I'm worried about her though."

Bobby finished the last of his breakfast, and began sipping from his orange juice. "Well, I say if you're really worried, sit her down and speak with her."

"I tried."

"Well, Alyce does seem like a tough shell to crack. But you're her cousin. I don't know her so well, but maybe if you give her some time, she'll come around."

Bella smiled. "That sounds like awesome advice. I guess I'll do that."

John moved around under his sweater. He lifted his head up, his hair messy and his eyes in slits. "Can you guys...shut up?"

Before Bobby would say something, Bella had beat him to the punch. "Why don't you shut up?! Stop sleeping on tables like a bum and go to your room!"

John lifted his head up, looking annoyed. "Are you my mother? Are you going to wipe my ass when I take a shit too?"

Bobby looked on as the two bickered. He slowly got up from his seat, grabbing his plate. He moved in slow motion, there was no way he was going to get caught up into this. Bobby got up just in time, for Bella had thrown her bottle of juice at John's head.

Bobby quickly made his way to throw out his stuff, looking back as the two still fought. If he didn't know Bella was related to Alyce, he would've thought she was John's younger sister.

"Maybe I wouldn't have to hit you, if you weren't so gosh darn rude!" Bobby heard Bella yell. By now, other students had taken the same queue and began walking out of the cafeteria. They already knew how Bella was, just by word of mouth. It was a miracle John hadn't tried to burn her.

"Yea, well. Next time you do that, you're going to see what's going to happen, _Human!"_

Bobby groaned massaging his temples. He had a nice breakfast, his stomach was nice and full. But now he had a headache. He let out a sigh, walking out of the cafeteria's double doors, hearing a loud crash.

________________________________________________________

A/N: Ok so, for you guys who are still reading there's a little surprise. Fellow reader, KyroxIsxSmexy has made a video! Featuring none other than Bella and Alyce! Alyce is being portrayed as Kristen Stewart, and Bella is Hayden Panettiere! The first scene is when Alyce is recovering from her fight with Magma, and the rest....is a secret lol. Please enjoy! And say thanks to KyroxIsxSmexy! She worked hard on it! And I think it came out awesome!

Link, take out the spaces: http : // www . youtube . com /watch?v = pzSkpz81214


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Siamese Almedia

It was John's greatest plan ever. If it wasn't the best he's ever thought of, it was going to be. Slyly, John peered over the corner, looking as Bella made her way down the hallway. He was going to get her back for bashing him over the head with that stupid juice bottle.

A part of him couldn't believe he was stooping down so low, but a part of him was loving it. Stepping back and leaning against the wall, John roughly shook a can of whip cream. This was going to be classic. Anything to see that little blond haired girl scream. He pointed the can downward onto a paper plate, and watched as the whip cream formed a big plop on the plate.

"So you think throwing bottles is funny, let's see what happens when I throw this in your face." John peered over the corner, Bella only a few feet away. It was do or die time. John lifted the plate in his hand, and turned the corner and brung his hand out.

Bella let out a shriek, as she picked up her hands, whip cream going all over her hands, and a bit splattering on her face. She looked wide eyed as the plate dropped from her hands, and looked on to an angry John.

"That was meant for your face, _Blondy."_ John scowled, looking at Bella.

Bella smiled, and pushed a finger in her mouth. "It taste yummy!"

He wasn't going to be defeated. There was just no way. Quickly, John shaked the rest of the whip cream out of the bottle, he made his way toward Bella, and pushed his hand on her face, using his other hand to push the back of her head deeper into his had.

Bella let out a growl, trying her best to get away from John's grasp. "John!" Bella yelled. Out of reaction, Bella steadied herself on her right leg, and brung up her left leg as hard as could. John immediately let go, falling to the floor.

Bella wiped her face, chuckling. "I told you. I told you I would kick you where the sun doesn't shine."

John steadied himself on a nearby banister, getting up and hunching over the rail. "Low....blow...." John huffed.

Bella gathered the rest of the whip cream on her face, and made her way to John. She patted his head, the whip cream mixing in with his gelled back hair.

"Fair game, when you try to slap me with a plate of whip cream."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alyce sat up in bed. Why did Bella have to start something right out of her room? Sluggishly, Alyce made her way to the door of her room, she opened it and peered out. Cream all over the floor, an abandoned paper plate, and John huddling over the stair banister. Alyce let out a yawn, she patted down her hair with her hands, not caring how she looked. She stepped out of her dark room, and made her way toward John. She placed a hand on his back.

"Get away from me, Bella." John growled, still trying to regain his breath.

Alyce gave off a meek smile, taking her hand off of John's back. Maybe leaving would be a good idea. Bella and John did seem to get along, even if it was through messy pranks and bickering. Bella would keep John company while she was away. Alyce let out a sigh, turning around to leave.

"I swear...Bella, you're....so dead." John huffed.

Alyce turned around and looked at John. "She has a mean kick, doesn't she?" Alyce asked her voice low. John immediately stood up, still a bit hunched over from the pain. He turned around and limped to the wall, using it help him stand up. He wiped his face and smiled. "You should've warned me."

Alyce shrugged. "Sorry. Next time you know better."

John cocked his head to the side, looking at Alyce from top to bottom. She wore shorts, a tank top, her hair still messy from sleeping. Her face looked run down, her eyes bloodshot. "You look horrible." John commented, feeling a bit better from Bella's kick of death. "Does your body still hurt?"

Alyce nodded. "Yea, I'm going to go back to sleep. See you later."

"It's about to be 2 o clock. I like to sleep late too, but are you serious? You need to help me get back at your cousin."

"You two seem to be having fun going at it." Alyce tried to smile, but it probably just looked like a horrible frown. Alyce took a step back, getting ready to go back into her room. She was just feeling tired. And it wasn't because of her injuries, if anything they had healed up just fine and she should be feeling wonderful. But she just wasn't. As Alyce grabbed her door handle, a flash back of her meeting with Pietro threw itself into her head.

John walked up to Alyce, firmly grabbing her arm. "What's wrong with you? I see you for one day, then you go back and disappear for two days. Bella says all you do it sleep in our room, and you don't even eat."

"I'm still pretty hurt from fighting that girl. That's all it is." Alyce was going to overlook the fact that Bella had told him these things. She hated when people approached her like this, expecting her to answer everything they asked.

"I know you're lying." John harshly spoke, pushing Alyce back her arm. "If you can tell your cousin these things, and not you're boy--"

"Maybe because she's my family?" Alyce interrupted, sticking her finger into John's chest. "Why should it matter what's wrong with me? All you do is turn around and leave whenever something happens."

John stood quiet, grabbing Alyce's hand taking a step back.

"You see. Exactly what I just said." Alyce couldn't stop what she was saying. Her mind was speaking for her, all the raging thoughts she had cooped up was just coming out. John grabbed onto Alyce's shoulders, bringing her close. The only reason he could think of why she was acting this way, was that kid. That stupid rich punk.

"I can be better than him, you know."

Alyce looked up at John. "What are you talking about?" Alyce gripped onto John's arms, his grip getting stronger on her shoulders. She took in a deep breath, her powers wanted to exploded, she gripped his arms tighter, trying her best to suppress the feeling.

John didn't know what to say, he wasn't one for words. And he wasn't going to even try to keep this conversation going. Without thinking, John brought his face towards Alyce, placing a firm kiss on her lips. All he wanted to do was make her feel better, he was trying his best. A wave of emotion washed through him as Alyce returned his kiss.

He pulled away looking at Alyce's dull blue eyes. "You'll see. I'm going to do it." He turned around and walked down the stairs, anger washing threw him. He knew exactly what he was going to do to make Alyce feel better.

And it involved a bit of burning.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Dead Weight

Alyce laced up her boots tight. She got up from her bed and grabbed her jacket, zippering it up and tightening the straps that lay across her chest. She tied her hair back tight. What was going to happen was going to be big. She knew she wasn't supposed to be getting into anything, but she needed too. If she knew John, she knew what he was going to try to do. He was either going to end up seriously hurt, or just dead.

Alyce opened her window, looking outside. What was taking Remy so long? She placed on a pair of black leather gloves, walking around her room, when a knock on her door caught her attention.

"Come in!" Alyce called out, looking as the door opened and Remy came in, looking shy.

"Is _la cheri_, decent?" He asked covering his eyes, with a gloved hand.

"Yes. We have to go."

Remy looked at Alyce with a questioning look. He buttoned up his trench coat and sighed. "Remy understands the situation. We're going to save John but---"

"John and Bella. I can't find her anywhere, and just knowing her, she's with John right now. And I doubt he knows it." Alyce motioned for Remy to come close to her, but he stood his ground.

"_Mon cheri,_ Remy would like to know how exactly we're going to get there."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alyce had found Remy in the library, while he was working on a long over due essay he had to give in to Ms. Monroe. It was supposed to be about the French Occupation, but Remy was finding it hard to even write about it. Why? Just because he really didn't care. He was just about to start on the second sentence when Alyce sat next to him.

"Remy. I need your help."

Remy looked up to Alyce, her face twisted with worry. He put down his pen and looked at her. What could possibly be wrong. His face grew stern, he placed his hand over hers. "Who dumped you?" He asked. It had to be John, it just had to be. He was going to kill him.

Alyce shook her head. "No one dumped me, Remy. Bella...is in trouble. So is John."

Remy let out a laugh, he didn't mean too. He just found it funny that of all people, Bella would be in trouble. She looked capable of taking care of herself, and John? He was always ready for a fight.

"Remy thinks you're overreacting." Remy picked up his pen intending to start his sentence, when Alyce placed a hand over his.

"John is going to burn down the Brotherhood, because he's jealous of Pietro. Bella is being a sneak, and following people around for no good reason. I can't do this on my own, Remy. I need your help." Alyce had just summed up everything that had happened in about two seconds. She needed to be quick. Remy was the only person she could thing of bringing with her. "Please..." Alyce added, her eyes pleading.

Remy closed his text book with a hard slap. He got up from his seat and placed his hands on his hips, looking triumphant. "Remy will save the day! Let us go!"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"We're going to fly..." Alyce answered Remy, who was still looking dumb founded.

Remy looked at Alyce but then it all hit him. "_Mon Dieu!_" He exclaimed. "Remy knew you had to be an Angel is disguise."

Alyce watched as Remy did the sign of the cross. "Actually, I was going to do these bat looking wings, but it doesn't matter. We need to go."

"_Oui!_" Remy nodded smiling. He watched as Alyce steadied herself on the window sill. She stood up slowly, her feet balancing on the ledge, as she held out onto the grooves of the Mansion. She crouched down and stuck out her hand toward Remy.

"Give me your hand..." She murmured, taking in a deep breath. Remy slowly placed his hand in hers. Wasn't this supposed to be reversed? Wasn't he supposed to fly away with her? Remy silently cursed to himself. All the fantasy books he had read as a child all lied to him.

"Ok, Remy. You need to step out."

Remy snapped back to attention, his hand still in Alyce's. He looked over confused, but Alyce was already outside, a huge pair of bat looking wings protruding from her back and flapping. Remy let go of Alyce's hand, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him.

"_Non, non_. Remy is not stepping out of that window. Remy already dealt with needles this week, he is not dealing with heights._ Non, non, non!_"

Alyce rolled her eyes, she hovered her way to the ledge of the window, placing her hands on it. "I'm not going to let you fall, don't you trust me?"

"Remy never said that he did not trust you. Remy doesn't trust the height."

Alyce stuck her head in the window, giving Remy a small smile. "Look, don't worry. I promise, ok? Remy we need to go." Alyce stuck out her hand, waiting for Remy to take it.

"You can even close your eyes, we'll be on the ground in seconds." Alyce was lying the best that she could. In all honestly, this was the first time she had even done this, making wings and _trying_ to fly.

She figured it birds could do it then she could. But it was a bit hard to hover.....

"Ok....Fine." Remy placed his hand back in Alyce's and she gripped hard. It was now or never. If she let Remy continue to think, he would never get out of that window.

"But if Re-" Alyce quickly pulled Remy out of the window, using her feet to push off the side of the building. The sound of Remy's girlified screams filling the air.

"Calm....ugh..down, Remy!" Alyce shouted as she strained to grab Remy's other arm. He kicked and screamed as Alyce picked up the speed. If he kept squirming he was going to fall. Without a warning, Alyce let go of Remy, a slew of curses coming out of his mouth. Quickly, Alyce dipped under him, and stood still.

With great weight, Remy plopped himself down into Alyce's arms, and he wrapped his arms around her neck tightly.

"_Jamais, jamais de nouveau!"_ Remy sputtered out. Never, never again was what he spoke. Alyce smiled, as she continued to fly, occasionally dipping low whenever Remy would squirm. Being around him had two benefits. Learning French, and laughing, even though the situation seemed dire.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

John slammed his foot on the break, sending Bella forward almost hitting her head on the dash board. How could he get so far and not realize she was in the back seat the entire time. Upon discovering her, and her bright blond hair, she had made her way to the front and begun scolding him.

"Get out of the car!" John yelled, already pushing on Bella's shoulder. If Alyce found out Bella was in the car with him, he surely was going to get a mouthful. "Get out! You're too much trouble."

Bella pushed back, grabbing John's arm and squeezing it. "I'm trouble! You're the one going....God knows where, to do...God know what! You don't even know where this place is!"

John growled fiddling around with Bella's flying smacks. "I can try to look for it! Stop hitting me you stupid....you stupid....blond!" Bella had managed to make a fool of him, three times in the same day. This being the third. She was absolutely right. He had no idea where this place was. But he had something up his sleeve.

"I said stop hitting me!" John growled once more, as he grabbed both of Bella's arms and pushed her back into her seat. "I took Kitty's phone. It's a good thing you decided to follow me and be stupid, you can call them and pretend to be Kitty. Be _useful_."

Bella huffed, looking at John with a glare. She blew out some air from her mouth, a strand of hair flying out of her face. "Fine." She looked as John dug into his jacket pocket taking out a pink bedazzled phone. Kitty had some good taste. Bella snatched the phone and opened it. "Say thank you."

"What?"

"Say thank you." Bella smirked, looking over at John. "Say, Thank you Bella for being so awesome and following me."

John slammed his hands on the steering wheel. "No. Fuck you. Just call already."

"Say it or I won't call!" Bella shouted back. "You hit a girl! I'm going to tell Alyce when this is all over. She's going to wring your neck! And so is Uncle James."

John sighed, running his hand over his face. As much as he didn't want Bella here, with him, she was. And if she was in anyway useful, it was now. "Fine...." John gritted his teeth.

"Thank you....ugh....Thank you Bella for being so awesome, and following me."

Bella giggled. "That's a good boy! Such a good fire boy."

"Shut up! I'm not your dog. Now call."

Bella smiled, bopping her head from side to side. She looked in Kitty's phone and found Avalanche's number. She was so lucky she had gotten the details out of Alyce when she had the time. Or else she would be totally useless. "Ok, shut up."

John sighed. He hadn't even said anything.

Bella smiled and gave John a thumbs up. Now she just had to do her best Kitty impression.

"_Hello?"_ Came a manly voice.

"Heyyyy, like, it's me. Kitty!"

John looked over to Bella wide eyed. Kitty didn't even sound like that. Bella was going to blow this whole thing. He looked over at Bella who was giggling into the phone. Was she even taking this seriously? He firmly poked Bella on her shoulder.

"She doesn't speak that way!" John mouthed, but Bella waved him off.

"I'm just, like, super hyper today! Do you want to, like, meet up? Oh! Great! That's like, super! Oh my god! Cool! So like, at the Star bucks near the ice cream shop? Ok! I'll be there! Oh hey! Like, invite, Pietro too, Alyce is coming. Ok! Bye!"

"How do you know there names?" John grumbled, silently happy that Bella had stopped talking that way. He started up the car again, waiting for Bella's answer.

"Alyce told me." She responded, closing the phone and putting it in the glove compartment of the car. She turned to face John and gave him a big smug grin.

"What wouldn't you do with out me, Mister Allerdyce?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

John rolled his eyes, stepping on the gas pedal sending the car flying down the road. He was hoping it was a rhetorical question, the list could go on and on and on and on...........


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: My name is Bella Garland.

A French Vanilla Latte with Soy milk, half sugar, and half splenda, no foam but just a little bit of whipped cream. Also, a bit of vanilla bean on the top of the foam, it had to be right in the middle. Also, caramel on the bottom of the cup, so when she stirred she would get caramel in each sip.

Bella giggled. She had never ordered coffee before, and she had no idea what she had just ordered. But it sounded delicious. She payed for her drink and brought the steamy up to her lips, first inhaling the warm scent. She sipped the coffee slowly, digging into her pocket and giving the clerk the money. Bella peered looked outside, and spied John, glaring at her.

"_Hurry...up." _ His look read.

Bella smiled. The coffee house was pretty packed, but it shouldn't be so hard finding a boy with white hair. Bella looked around, fixing her blond hair with her free hand, and zippering her sweater a bit lower than usual. It was time she turned on her girly charm.

She walked through the coffee house slowly, stopping to look at each table, but making it seem she was just picky about where she sat. She had gotten to the back of the store, when she spied a white haired boy.

It had to be him. The way he sipped his coffee just called out "Rich". Right next to him sat a guy in a black leather jacket. Yup, there they were. It was a shame John was about to rough the white haired one up. He was pretty cute. Bella took in a deep breath and made her way to the table.

"Hi guys!" Bella smiled, sipping her coffee. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Avalanche looked over to Pietro, who seemed just as confused. Did Alyce dye her hair or something? Pietro sipped his coffee and looked at the girl in front of him. "Actually, we do mind. We're meeting up with someone."

"Awww, that's fine. You guys look totally cute together."

"We're not gay....." Avalanche spoke. "We're waiting for our girlfriends."

Bella gave an impish smile to Pietro, and winked. "Really. They must be super lucky to have guys like you." Bella fluttered her eye lashes, trying her best to woo these two into her grasp. She sipped her coffee and sighed. "My friend is outside, she has a car. Do you guys want to go anywhere?"

Pietro sighed. "We have our own car thanks. Are you deaf? We're waiting someone. So please, just scoot along." Pietro looked at this blond female with confusion. There had been many time girls had come up to me and Avalanche. They usually just went away after he said something mean. But this girl wasn't budging for anything.

Pietro gave Avalanche an awkward look. And he returned the same. This girl was just...for lack of a better word...odd.

Bella put her coffee cup down and began to twirl her hair in her fingers. All she had to do was sit here, for a couple more minutes and John would come in. Then everything would be ok. She would dodge a big fireball, run toward the exit, dodging more fireballs, and get in the car. It sounded pretty simple. It could be like a real life video game. Except this was sudden death mode.

"Ok, well.....it's a shame." Bella wrapped her hands around her steaming hot cup of coffee and leaned in close to the pair of guys. The sound of the bell, signaling a new customer, rang threw the store. The sound of heavy boots making it's way toward the back of the store. Bella's heart began to beat faster, with anticipation. This was just all so exciting.

"You see...my name is Bella. My friend, John, is coming. And he's going to kill you."

_______________________________________________________________________________

Bella shuddered as she quickly placed her head down on the table. She could feel the hot flame as a big hot fireball went right over her head. But, what she was thinking about, didn't involve dying. She was just worried about her hair.

She could hear the hot smack, as the fire ball landed into the wall in front of her, and her body suddenly felt light. She opened her eyes and looked up, the white haired boy looking back at her.

"You know, your friend is crazy. Letting such a pretty girl almost get her head burnt off."

Bella blinked.

Pietro smiled and fixed a few loose strands that had come into Bella's face. "Thanks for the forewarning...." He spoke, before he got up and completely disappeared right before her eyes, a gust of wind flailing her hair about. Nervously, Bella got up from where she sat, which was behind the registers. She winced as she witnessed another fireball leaving John's hand and straight into the back of the store. Her eyes followed it, watching as Avalanche slammed his hands into the ground, a wall of concrete lifting up into the air and blocking the fireball.

Bella had to get out of here. The way John was looking, was just scary. His eyes glistened as he lighted up another fireball, his mouth twisted in a smile. For sure, this coffee house was going to go up in flames. Bella quickly got up, making her way over the counter, knocking into the register and sending it crashing into the floor. People where pushing to get out, knocking into her, screaming at the tops of their lungs. Bella looked on as a woman with her baby pushed her way out of the store.

Immediately, Bella regretted every agreeing to help John. Even following him. She felt responsible for all of this. She was going to get John out of her, no matter what. Gulping, Bella made her way toward John, but before she could reach her hand out, something had smacked right into him. Bella threw her glance to the right, watching as Pietro had slammed himself into John, sending the two crashing right outside the window and into a near by car.

Bella covered her mouth, a trail of wind and flying debris following right after.

"Oh man. He is so dead." Avalanche spoke as he walked over a broken chair. He flicked off a few things from his jacket and cracked his neck and knuckles. He stopped, looking over to Bella. This bitch had it coming.

He laughed as he made his way toward Bella, fear written over her face. Avalanche smiled. "Don't be scared. Breaking bones doesn't hurt at all."

Bella took a step back, tripping over someone who was knocked unconscious. She let out a small yelp as she fell. She pushed herself back. What could she do? There had to be something. Anxiously, Bella looked around for something she could throw, but everything was out of her reach. She looked up as Avalanche was getting closer, his arm out ready to grab onto her.

Bella screamed, shielding her face with her arms.

But nothing happened.

Peeking threw her hands, Bella looked up.

Alyce had gripped Avalanche's arm, holding it tight in a clawed hand. Her feet hadn't even landed on the floor, as she jumped into the coffee shop, a trail of black like tentacles following her, and failing around angrily.

"You know...." Alyce growled, as Avalanche looked at her, very much surprised. "I actually liked you..."

And with that, Alyce pumped back her other arm, hard metallic armour forming over her hand. She then ripped her arm threw the air, sending it straight for Avalanche's face. The punched connected, a sickening slap, heard, echoing throughout the store.

Avalanche flew black, landing on a broken table. He moaned in pain, clutching his face as he looked up at Alyce, pleading.

She made her way toward him, taking her sweet time stepping over the debris. "You were going to hit a girl? Was that what I just caught you doing?!" Alyce yelled, cracking her neck and massaging her arm.

Avalanche pushed his way back, as fast as he could, but his back met the wall. He looked around nervously, his hand still on his jaw. It had to be broken. He moaned in pain, his eyes stinging with tears.

Alyce let out a laugh. "You were going to hurt my cousin.....a big guy like you hitting on a little girl. Well we'll see how you're going to like it when I'm done with you...." Alyce pumped her fist back. She was going to send as much force as she could toward Avalanche. She was seeing red. All she wanted to do was kill him. Had she not gotten here in time, Bella would've been hurt. Maybe even dead. The thought raced threw her head, making her even more angry.

"Alyce! NO!" Bella screamed. She got up and quickly wrapped her arms around the sharp spikes coming out of Alyce's arm. She cried out in pain, as the spikes pierced her skin.

Alyce quickly retracted the armour around her arm, catching Bella as her legs buckled. "Bella? Are you ok? I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

Bella moaned clutching on her arm. "Don't hurt him...." Bella sputtered out to Alyce, who looked confused.

"What do you mean don't hurt him?! He was going to hurt you! Bella you have a lot to learn about being around mutants." Alyce got up, ready to finish what she started when Bella latched onto her.

"I know it's not right to kill someone! Just stop! You've already hurt him enough. He's Kitty's boyfriend! I'm fine!"

Alyce looked into her cousin eye's. This was the most she's ever seen Bella serious. Alyce looked over to Avalanche who was struggling to get up, blood heaping out his mouth. She was going to get Bella, and him out of here.

Bella suddenly screamed. Outside, a car had just blown up into flames, John trying his best to put Pietro on fire. But with him running around, it was only making the fires more worse. Alyce grabbed onto Bella's arm, running her hand over the cuts, forming a gauze. She looked over at Avalanche, sending one of her black masses to wrap itself around him.

"Bella...listen to me." Alyce said sternly, grabbing Bella by her shoulders. "Take Avalanche to the hospital."

"What?! What about you?"

"Just listen to me! Ok? Remy and I have this covered." Alyce pushed Bella in the direction of a broken window. She set Avalanche outside, and took Bella's hand as she helped her out of the flaming coffee shop. "Everything is going to be, ok. I promise you, Bella. Now go!"

Bella nodded as she leaned Avalanche on her shoulder and began struggling her way down the block.

Alyce looked on as she did. She turned around and looked at the scene that lay in front of her. She was going to make his better.

"_Mon Cheri! _Remy needs....some help..." Remy ran up to Alyce, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Remy, cannot catching that white haired rat!"

Alyce nodded, taking a step forward walking toward where John and Pietro fought. The street underneath her feet was beginning to crack from the pressure of the fire, some spots just torn up from where Pietro had dug his feet in to run. People in all directions screaming, car alarms going off, fire everywhere. Alyce looked over to Remy and smiled.

"We can do this...."

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A/N: Ok! Action scene! Tell me what you guys think, did I do ok? More action to come of course in the next chapter :)


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Hey guys, heads up. I'm introducing The Blob in this chapter. But don't think of him like how he was in the Origins movie, I'm using the old 90's version of the Blob. Like how he talks :). Enjoy!

_

Chapter 39: The Froggy Jumps

Remy was running. Not away from something, but toward something. He huffed as he picked up his legs, trying to go faster and faster. Remy growled, feeling the surge of kinetic energy flowing threw his body. He reached into this trench coat, taking out his collapsible bo staff. His speed began to grow fast, the energy pushing his legs to go faster. He flicked his arm out, the staff stretching out.

"Gambit is ready to party!" He yelled as he hopped over a car and jumped into the air. He grabbed his bo staff tightly and pushed the kinetic energy into it, the staff glowing a bright pink. He brung himself down, his bo staff cracking into the street, a wave blasting from the center.

Anything within a few feet of him blasted back, rolling away from the force. Remy stood up and smiled, twirling his bo staff around.

"Now that Gambit has set the playing field, who wants to play?" Remy smiled, flipping his bo staff from side to side. He waited patiently, he knew full well whose attention he had caught. A loud sound suddenly was heard, and Remy's body was gently lifted up as the ground shook.

Another step was heard, again lifting Remy up. Remy smiled, continuing to flip his staff in fancy twirls. Remy stopped, looking to the right, catching the sight of something......he definitely wasn't expecting _that_.

Remy looked on as...something....he wasn't even sure what it really was. A massively huge..._blob_....made it's way slowly toward him. It stepped over a car, smashing the hood in.

"_Mon Dieu...._" Remy murmured.

The mass suddenly stopped, two small beady eyes looking right at him. "No one....can stop the BLOB!"

Remy let out a surprised laughed. Here he thought he was getting Pietro's attention. "_Mon Ami, _I wouldn't dream of trying!" Remy bowed, smiling. He so had this. Not only was this guy slow, but he was morbidly obese. How he even managed to stand up, was just simply amazing to Remy. Remy stood up straight, a smug look on his face.

The Blob took another step forward. Remy laughed and looked up at the sky. By the time this Blob would get to him, it would already be night fall. But, he was horribly wrong.

His real name was Frederick J. Dukes AKA The Blob. And while he may look like he couldn't move, he surely could move just as fast as anyone out there. Frederick smiled, his big plump cheeks pulling back to reveal a set of white teeth. He looked on as the guy in front of him plastered on a smug smile. He surely didn't know what was coming to him. Not only did Frederick possess superhuman strength, but he was also had his own gravitational pull. One, good landed smack would send this laughing Cajun to his death bed.

Frederick readied himself, hunching over, lifting up his left leg and stepping down. He was like a raging bull, and he was going to get the Conquistador. "NO ONE! CAN STOP THE BLOB!" He yelled out, running into a full sprint, straight into the wide eyed Cajun.

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Alyce couldn't find them anywhere. No John. No Pietro. And she was getting mad. How hard could it be to find someone who is a speed demon, and a Pyromaniac? Alyce limped her way through the empty city streets. It was totally abandoned, yet no cops had even come to try to do something. It was like they were giving them their own playing field. Free to do anything.

Alyce would find them eventually. All she had to do was follow the path of destruction that spanned out over 4 city blocks, that the two had made. Her arm, where she had gotten burnt by Magma, was killing her. It must've been from when she punched Avalanche. Her ribs ached, shooting pain right down into her legs, causing her to walk like an injured penguin. She stopped, leaning her body on a nearby flipped car. This was going to be all over the news for sure, if the Professor didn't do something. Remy, John, Bella, and her were all going to get in the biggest trouble of their lives.

Alyce pushed herself up off the car, upon hearing a loud boom, flying debris zooming in front of her. She took in a deep breath and waddled her way to the street corner, leaning on a lamp post. She looked over to see John walking to a pile of rubble, lighting another fire ball in his hands. His jacket had long since been abandoned, no doubt ripped to shreds by Pietro. His jeans had holes in them, from what seemed to be fire. His hair was messy and he was dirty.

Alyce tried to call out, but her voice was weak. She cursed herself. She felt so weak, unable to do anything. She needed to do something. Her vision was getting blurred as she looked on.

Pietro ran out from under the pile of debris, throwing himself into John and the two skidded across the street. Pietro lifted his hand up, his face angry, and slammed it down on John's face with all his might. Quickly, John grabbed onto Pietro's side, pulling him off, and sending a burst of flame in his direction.

Alyce took a step forward. She had to separate these two, or they would just keep going. John got up from where he lay, blood pouring out of his nose and down his mouth. He hadn't even been up two seconds, when another body knocked into him.

Pietro let out a laugh, looking over in another direction waving off to someone. "You sure got him, didn't you Frederick!"

A voice, unknown to Alyce let out a bellowing laugh. "Puny little Cajun. Nothing can defeat the BLOB!"

"Well, let's finish them off!" Pietro smiled.

"NO!" Alyce shouted, bursting off into a sprint. She pushed herself into the air, going straight for Pietro. But she was weak, she couldn't see properly and the pain in her body was just too much to bear. She landed sloppily, stumbling over, knocking into Pietro.

"What are you doing here? Actually, you know I'm not surprised." Pietro grabbed onto Alyce as she fell.

"Blob wants to play with her!"

Pietro looked over his shoulder, rolling his eyes. "No! Shut up, Frederick."

Alyce looked up to Pietro, using him as support as she got up. "Don't...just leave them alone. Fight me, instead." Alyce pushed herself away from Pietro and took a fighting stance. This was all her fault. If she had only taken Pietro out of her mind, and made things work with John, he wouldn't be hurt.

Remy would be at the Mansion, finishing his essay and hanging out with Jubilee. Kitty wouldn't have to worry about her boyfriend, whose jaw Alyce had shattered. Bella's arm would be ok, and they would be at the Mansion, laughing, playing guitar.

"Take me on!" Alyce shouted. "Leave them out of this."

Pietro smiled, signaling for Frederick to watch over John and Remy. He folded his arms over his chest.

"You know, John and I had a good conversation with each other...."

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Pietro was thinking that John was just 100% hard headed. How many times did he have to tell John, that he could just no catch him. Yet John was still trying. Pietro yawned, stepping over a broken TV that had some how made it's way into the street. He looked up catching John getting up from his last fall.

Not thinking much of anything, Pietro flashed his way toward John. "You need help getting up?" He asked, smiling.

"Fuck you..." John sputtered. He leaned on a nearby crushed mailbox, getting up slowly.

"Why are you even attacking me? Are you mad because I took your girl into my car?"

John growled. "It's because of you, she's how she is. As soon as I get rid of you, she'll be back to her old self." Why was John even sharing all of this with him? Pietro was his enemy, not his friend. John staggered up, taking a step back and lighting his lighter.

"How long do you think you can go on before that thing runs out of fluid?" Pietro tried his best to get what John had told him out of his mind. What was wrong with Alyce? Last time he had saw her, was when she asked for in. Into the Brotherhood. She looked fine to him then. Pietro locked eyes with John, who was hesitating to make another flame.

"She's not how she used to be. She won't eat, she sleeps all day. She stays in her room all night. It's because of you. Whatever you said, something you did. It's you!" John quickly lit up another fireball, sending a wave of fire toward Pietro.

Pietro simply took a step aside, totally ignoring that fact that a flame almost caught him. He flashed his way toward John, quickly slapping John so he would listen, instead of attack. "Hey, man. It's not my fault. You're the one acting all stupid with her. She's the one running to me asking to be with me!"

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. He threw himself at Pietro, managing to knock him down to the floor. He wrapped his hands around Pietro's neck, squeezing hard. "You're lying!" John spat.

"Think what you want, fire fuck."

John let out a breath, bringing a hand up and meeting Pietro's face with it. But his hand instead knocked into the concrete, and the shattering pain that went up his arm caused him to cry out in pain. A foot landed on his back, forcing him into the ground. Pietro laughed, leaning over to the ground. "You're just going to have to admit....that I can take way more better care of her, than you ever can, _John._"

Pietro looked as John's face twisted with pain. He huffed, the pressure on his back getting more and more extremely painful. "I'm going to.....kill you..." John brung his hands under him, trying his best to get back up, but Pietro put more pressure on his back, causing him to collapse.

"Let me ask you something....are you really doing this for Alyce? From the way it looks, it seems as if you're doing this for your own personal gain. Not only did you bring her cousin into this, you didn't take any regard for Bella when you threw your fireball. You're being reckless. You just want Alyce to your self. If you ask me, you don't even care how she ends up after this....."

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"And blah blah blah..." Pietro continued looking to Alyce. "I don't think I even want to mention how he answered. He put your cousin in danger, Alyce. For his own personal gain, not even thinking of what would happen, how you would feel if Bella got hurt...." Pietro snapped his fingers, The Blob hunching over and picking up the sleeping Remy and John.

"No...." Alyce croaked. If Pietro was eating her mind, he was doing a good job at it. Bella could've been blown up in the coffee shop. All because John didn't think. She looked on as The Blob picked up Remy. "Don't....look. Don't hurt them anymore....I've made me decision."

Pietro whistled over to The Blob, who set the two down, looking angry. He knew he was being mean, but everything he said was true, and he knew what Alyce was thinking. Right now, he was the one being selfish. _He_ wanted Alyce for himself. _He_ was the one who came out of the fight unscathed, it was him who should win. He looked over at Alyce, her face serious.

"I'll go with you...I'll go....just....leave them alone." Alyce took in a deep breath, holding onto her stomach. By doing this, she was saving all of them. Remy would be alive. And John as well. Just by his actions, Alyce could tell that John didn't have her best interest in his mind. He was reckless. He almost killed her cousin. Alyce bit her lip, making her way toward Pietro. Remy would take care of Bella for her while she was gone.

Pietro placed his hands on Alyce's shoulders. "You're going to be with me now. And I'm going to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again......"

Pietro smiled to himself as he took Alyce into his arms. He had her now. Pietro had taken Alyce from John, and there was nothing better that could top it off. He suddenly felt sorry for Alyce. He looked down at her as he cradled her in his arms. Everyone on that team was going to hate her. This was it. From this moment on, she was an enemy of the X-Men. Alyce Red, now a member of The Brotherhood.

"FREDERICK WANTS TO PLAY!"

Pietro growled, looking back at the Blob who angrily stomped his feet. "NO, Frederick! SHUT UP!"

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A/N: O: Stay tuned.... :)


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40: The Fear In Your Eyes

Bella was in a daze. For the first time in her life, it felt as if the world had stopped. Everything was falling, and there was no one there to save her. No one to help her. She was alone. Bella plopped herself on to the stairs of the Mansion. She buried her face in her hands, a big sob escaping her lips.

The Mansion was dark, quiet and empty. As the other students lay in bed, sleeping, Bella was crying. Scott and Logan had brought Remy and John back to the Mansion, and Avalanche lay in the infirmary, his jaw wired shut. When Bella had him on her shoulder, as the two struggled to get down the street, Bella knew she just couldn't take him to a normal hospital. So she took him to the Mansion, the only place where she knew they would both feel safe. He would even get to see Kitty when he woke up.

But, Bella couldn't understand. All that destruction, that only John and Pietro did, hadn't even peeped on the news. Was it the Professor? Did he do something?

Bella wiped the tears from her face as she thought back in her mind. A wave of relief had washed over her when she saw Remy and John being brought back home. Not in the best of shape, but not dead either. And that made her feel better. But when Logan closed the Mansion doors, locking it shut, no other signs of bringing anyone else in, Bella could feel her heart sink down into her stomach. That had been hours ago, but Bella knew one thing;

Alyce was gone.

Where had she gone? Was she under a pile of rubble? Was she in pain? Alyce had promised that everything would be ok, so she had to be fine. She just had to be. Bella believed she was ok. She had to. More tears escaped from Bella's green eyes. She hated crying, but it was the only thing she could do right now.

"Don't cry..." Came a weak voice from the bottom of the steps.

Bella quickly wiped the tears from her face, watching as John struggled to get up the steps. She got up, quickly making her way to his side, helping him sit down on the stairs. His left hand was bandaged up, his chin and nose also covered with gauze. Dried up blood was speckled across his chin and his face. Even his arm. To sum it all up, he just looked like shit.

John winced as Bella helped him to lower down on the steps. His legs were stiff and his mouth was dry. Slowly, he took out a small orange bottle from his pocket, motioning for Bella to open the top. She did so, looking into the bottle questioningly.

"What are these?" Bella asked.

"Vicodin...just give me two...." John took in a deep breath. Right now the only thing on his mind was getting rid of the horrible pain he was experiencing. Sure, Hank had fixed the broken bones in his hand, and cracked his nose back in place, but it still hurt. Bella shook two large pills in John's hand, wondering how he was going to swallow them.

"You know..." John croaked. "I remember when Alyce made me bottle of water....I sure could use that now." John placed the pills in his mouth, his teeth crunching on them. A bitter, sour taste filled his mouth and he gagged, but he managed to swallow them.

"How's Remy?" Bella asked, scooting closer to John.

"He's fine, he's just having trouble remembering what happened. Most likely memory loss of the entire fight. He doesn't have any broken bones though, lucky him...."

Bella stood quiet as she linked her arms with John. She rest her head on his shoulder, the tears forming once again in her eyes. "John..." Bella croaked, feeling stupid for crying again.

"Yea?" John asked quietly, looking down at Bella. Normally, they would be ripping each other's head off. And John sort of wished it was like that now, this was just awkward to him. A girl crying on his shoulder.

"Where's......Where's Alyce?" Bella began to sob loudly now. A wave of sadness washed over John. He didn't even know himself. It was funny how, he had went over to Pietro, to get rid of him. And in the end, he had lost Alyce. Awkwardly, John wrapped an arm around Bella, pulling her close. She latched onto him and began to cry.

"I don't know.....I'm sorry, Bella...." John relaxed his chin on Bella's head as he searched his thoughts, trying to remember where he had lost saw her. But he hadn't seen her at all. She was gone, as quick as she entered his life, she disappeared just as fast.

"Alyce..." Bella sobbed once more. John could feel his tattered shirt getting wet with her tears, it felt....weird. But he had a new duty. He was going to find Alyce. But for now, he was going to keep Bella in his sight. He wasn't going to let her disappear, either.

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A/N: Short chapter, yes. But a sad short chapter :(


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Introducing two new characters :) Mortimer Toynbee, AKA Toad. And Wanda Maximoff, Pietro's sister. Also known as The Scarlet Witch. I'm going to be using the Evolution version of Wanda, and for Toad, he's going to be older, but not like he was in the movie. Enjoy~

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Chapter 41: Hollow

Alyce was sitting up in bed, looking outside the opened window. A cool breeze fluttered in, bringing in the scent of the pine trees that lay right outside. She still couldn't believe what had happened, where she was, or what she was doing. But it was too late to go back and fix anything about it. It was a brand new day, and the sun shining outside was the most beautiful she had ever seen it.

Alyce closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, relaxing her mid section. She got up from the bed, the thick white cotton sheets tangled around her legs. She made her way toward the window, resting her hands on the sill as she looked outside. The house was alone for miles around on each side. Nothing in sight. The only thing she could hear was the chirping birds, the swaying trees.....and Wanda Maximoff blasting her heavy metal music. Which, coincidentally, Alyce liked. But not when it was played at 8 in the morning. Alyce turned around and picked up the sheets off the floor, beginning to fix the bed that she had slept on.

She looked on the bedside table, pictures propped up in fancy metal frames met her eye. Alyce sat down on the bed and picked up the picture. A fat Blob in the back round, Pietro in the front, an arm over Avalanche. Wanda on the far right in her red trench coat looking pissed, her short crew cut hair dyed red in the back. And up in a tree, smiling like a monkey was Mortimer Toynbee AKA Toad. Alyce laughed, they looked nice together. Alyce set down the frame. She laid back down on the bed, closing her eyes, remembering last night...when she first stepped inside the Brotherhood House.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pietro walked next to Alyce in silence, not sure of really what to say. They had walked for miles, but had managed to finally get out of the city and onto a paved road, right in the middle of a forest. As much as Pietro wanted to just pick up Alyce and take her home, he couldn't leave poor Frederick by himself. Everyone else at The Brotherhood House, treated him mean. And Pietro wasn't about to be the next one.

"Sorry, my car was trashed. I don't want to leave Blob behind. He has the mind of a kid, but the strength of Hercules. I'd feel bad."

Alyce let out a chuckle, stopping to rub her stomach. "It's fine...I owe him one too, he carried me half way."

Pietro laughed, taking a step in front of Alyce and bending down. "Get on. Piggy back ride."

"No, it's fine. I can walk."

Pietro growled. "Get on."

Alyce rolled her eyes, reluctantly getting on Pietro's back. He lifted her up, and began walking.

"Ahah! Blob sees Pietro!" Frederick suddenly boomed out in laughter.

Alyce chuckled. "He's really cute. In a kid like way." Alyce wrapped her arms around Pietro's neck, lightly, resting her chin on top of Pietro's white hair.

"Yea, he is. I just like to think of him as a kid brother. It's hard work looking after him though. He gets mad whenever he has to go through the garage door to get in the house. You'll see. I mean, if he was to go through the front door, he'll take the whole house with him."

The group walked silently, for what seemed about a half an hour, when a rather large house came into view. It would've looked nice, but the outside of the house just looked horrible. It looked like no one had lived there in years, and they just happened upon the place. Alyce looked up to the windows, a few lights on here and there. Downstairs, what Alyce guessed was the living room, a TV flickered.

Pietro grumbled. "What's the miracle Wanda isn't throwing a party?"

Alyce stood quiet, hoping Pietro would take that as a signal to tell him who Wanda was. He stood quiet for a few more minutes before he began to talk again. "Wanda is my....total reject of a sister. She's the one in the family that came out with bad taste...."

Alyce chuckled, but it sounded more like a sigh. "What do you mean by that?" She needed to have a conversation going. Or else thoughts of John began to race threw her head. Millions of questions would pop into her mind, and if there was any way to make them stop, it was having Pietro talk.

"Wanda...just think my complete opposite. Heavy metal music, shaved head, wild parties. Drugs even. She's annoying."

"I like heavy metal music."

Pietro laughed. "Yea, but you also like Classical. So I'm letting you slide. Wanda is just straight up guitar thrashing 'I'm-going-to-drink-your-blood' metal shit." Pietro set Alyce down, running back down the road to get Blob, who had stopped to look at a bird nest. Alyce was left alone, in front of this house. She suddenly felt inadequate. Like she was crashing a party, the nerdy girl who took it upon herself to come to the party. Alyce walked up the stoned paved way, suddenly stopping when the door open, a slender woman walking out.

"Hey, nice jacket..." The girl smiled. She pulled out a small dagger from her pocket and leaned on the doorway, beginning to clean her black painted nails.

"Thanks...I like your necklace..."

"Oh this?" The girl smiled and picked at her chain with her hand. "It's an Ankh. I love it....." The girl looked at Alyce and laughed. "Are you scared of me or something? I don't bite." She wiped her mouth, her dark red lipstick smearing across her cheek.

"Where's my brother? White haired kid, kinda of a snob, doesn't know how to live a little. You might've seen him running around?"

Alyce pointed over in the direction where she had seen him go. "With Frederick..." So this was Wanda Maximoff. She didn't seem so bad, as Pietro had explained. But it was so true, they were so different from each other. Alyce watched as Wanda stepped out of the house, her tight leather pants squeaking as her legs rubbed together, and her high heeled Gothic boots clicking.

"Ugh, Frederick. What a retard...." Wanda placed an arm over Alyce, giving her a one armed hug. "Welcome to The Brotherhood. Tell my idiot brother that there's take out, it's just warm in the oven."

"Sure..." Alyce spoke, still not exactly sure what was going on. The way Wanda was treating her, felt like Alyce had been here just yesterday. Maybe she was having a case of culture shock. Coming from the nice X Mansion, to the dilapidated house of The Brotherhood.

"Hey!" Wanda suddenly spoke, causing Alyce to jump. "You didn't bring any clothes. I don't see any extra on you." Wanda placed her hand on her chin, pondering. She then placed her hands on Alyce's waist. "You look just.....right about my size. Help yourself to anything in my closest....I steal everything I own, so I have a lot of clothes."

Wanda gave her a wink, twirling her dagger around in her hand. She disappeared into the house, going to do...whatever it was she normally did. Alyce took a step back, watching as Pietro came walking with the Blob.

The Blob stopped in front of Alyce, his massive belly poking Alyce's entire body. She took a step back, looking up into his beady eyes.

"Blob won't make a big scene. Trying to impress the little lady today!"

"Right, Frederick, right. Get inside!" Pietro's voice came with a humph. The Blob smiled, taking gigantic steps toward the house, each step causing the house to shake as if it was going to collapse. Alyce chuckled was she watched Pietro push Frederick through the garage door and into the house. He zoomed back outside, standing next to Alyce.

"What a night..."

Alyce nodded. "Your sister said there's food warming up in the oven..."

Pietro rolled his eyes, grabbing Alyce's hand and taking her into the house. "Ignore the mess, they never clean up. My room is clean, I'll just put you in there."

Alyce let herself be guided into the house, watching as Frederick plopped himself on the couch, breaking it with his massive force. As Alyce climbed the steps, she heard Wanda, yelling at Frederick for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"Goddammit, Blob! That's the fourth fucking couch this week!"

"You know Blob is heavy! Blob's name is Blob! DUH WANDA!"

A loud crash was heard, and the sound of Frederick laughing. Wanda began to curse, and Pietro just sucked his teeth in annoyance. Alyce let out a small laugh, maybe it would be fun to live here for a while. Just the interactions everyone was having with each other was funny.

But Alyce had to remind herself, she needed to keep busy. She needed to have something to do at every second of the day, or else she would end up in a dark hole. Her mind would begin to race, and she would begin to think about John and Bella. And Remy, in fact the whole X-Team. At this very minute, right now, were they talking bad about her? Already calling her a traitor?

Maybe they were....


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Shut up and Explode

Pietro wasn't a pervert. He really wasn't. Ok, true he would sometimes get with girls only for the sex, but he really wasn't a pervert. But right now, it looked like he was. He did knock on the door, Alyce didn't answer. So he walked it. It was his room after all.

Alyce stared at Pietro, tightening the towel across her body. "You could've knocked?" Alyce spoke, rather nonchalantly, as if he had walked in on her getting out of the shower thousands of times before. A small smile played on her face as she watched Pietro turn around, his back facing her. She sat down on his bed and began to get dressed.

"I knocked." Pietro spoke, still not looking up. He plastered his gaze on the floor, feeling like a four year old.

"I'm already dressed, powers make it easier..."

Pietro turned around, knowing his cheeks where still flushed with red. He looked up, watching Alyce dry her long black hair with a towel. "Dominikos hasn't come back to the house. Do you think your team got to him?"

Alyce sighed. "I caught him trying to hurt Bella--"

"Stop lying." Pietro interrupted. "Dominikos wouldn't hurt a girl."

Alyce shook her head, flicking the towel in front of her and laying it over the bed rest. "You don't know him well enough then, he was about to hurt her, and I punched him in his face. I told Bella to take him to the hospital, but knowing her, she no doubt took him to the Mansion."

"So he's behind enemy lines, huh?" Pietro sat down on his bed, thinking. "Dominikos has been in worse situations than this, he'll be fine."

Alyce was already planning the perfect rescue plan. But she had forgotten that around here, things where done differently. If someone left, then none of them gave a shit. It was like that. If they came back, then fine, they were back. If someone new came, they were welcome. They just had to find their own food, water, clothes and somewhere to sleep. It was every man for himself here, except when it came to Blob. It was a group effort to keep him safe, he seemed to always be getting in trouble.

"So, you're just going to wait for him to show up?"

"Yea...Dominikos is a grown man, he can find his own way home." Pietro turned around looking at Alyce. "What do you want to do today? It's your first day at the Brotherhood."

Alyce blushed, leaning on the window sill. "It's fine, we don't have to do anything. Staying here is fine." Alyce's mind was racing. As much as she didn't want to, she was already comparing Pietro to John. And so far, Pietro was winning. She hated thinking about it, but just to think her cousin was almost fried was making Pietro seem more appealing.

A sudden gust of wind sent Alyce's hair flying. Suddenly a pair of hands cupped her face and she was looking into emerald green eyes. "You're....absolutely beautiful..." Pietro murmured, moving his face in closer to Alyce. His lips were just about to touch hers, when his room door busted open.

"Pietro! You little twit! Did you fucking trash my Megadeath CD's?!"

Pietro sighed, deciding to just place a small kiss on Alyce's forehead. He turned around fists clenched.

"No you little Gothic Bat! It's morning time, what are you doing out of your goddamn coffin?!"

Alyce watched as the two bickered. It was funny, the sibling interaction. Her stomach suddenly began to feel sick. This was reminding her too much of two certain people she had left. This was almost the exact same way John and Bella bickered....

Alyce closed her eyes. She wondered, how they were doing now?

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John lightly knocked on Bella's room door. But it wasn't really Bella's room. It was really Alyce's, and as he stood outside, rushed thoughts of Alyce flooded threw his mind. He took a step back, leaning on the wall that stood opposite to the room door. He reached into his pants pocket, pulling out two loose Vicodin he had packed in.

Again, he had no water. He hated the disgusting taste he dealt with last time, so he pushed the pills back into his pocket, deciding that gritting his teeth was just a good enough remedy to get his mind off of the pain. The longer that Bella was making him wait, as she got dressed, the longer he was thinking about Alyce. He was missing how he made her laugh, and how she would make him things when he needed them. His mind was racing back to the time he first kissed her, outside of the Mansion on the benches facing the fountain. If what Pietro said was true, about her wanting to be with him, what did he do wrong?

Was he too mean? Controlling? That's what Pietro had said, and the longer he stood thinking about it, it seemed to be more true. John massaged his temples, aggravated. He just wanted Alyce back, to hug her and tell her the one thing he wanted to say, before she disappeared...

"John?" Came a voice.

John didn't think. He was going to tell Alyce what he thought. Quickly he cupped her face and brung his lips close to hers. "I love you, Alyce..." He mumbled, placing his lips on hers.

Bella felt her eyes begin to water. John was kissing her. He thought she was Alyce. Not knowing what to do, Bella returned the kiss, placing her hands on John's arms finally pulling away.

"I know you miss her, John. She's going to come back soon."

John gently, still held onto Bella's face, looking into her eyes. "She's going to come back..."

Whether it was a question or a statement, Bella didn't know. And she wasn't going to ask. She gently pushed away from John, grabbing his hand. "Alyce will be here soon. C'mon, we have to go meet with the team..." Bella let go of John's hand, taking a step back, trying to meet his eyes with a smile. But he just wouldn't look at her.

At least John was showing his true feelings, he just had the wrong person. Bella waited, looking at John, but he just wouldn't move. He probably just wanted to be alone. Bella sighed, turning around and walking down the steps of the stair case. She had gotten to the third step, when she heard a loud bang. She stopped, looking up. The sound signaling that John no doubt made a hole in the wall with his fist.

"_Alyce....hurry back."_ Bella thought to herself, going down the rest of the steps and down to the lower levels of the Mansion.

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Rogue wasn't sure how she would comfort Kitty. She didn't want to hug her, what if she accidentally drained Kitty? Or was she just being paranoid? Rogue fixed her dark green gloves and walked over to Kitty, who was busy crying over Avalanche's bed side. Even though, he was fully awake and aware of what was going on. He just couldn't talk, his mouth wired shut. Through writing, he had told everyone that it was Alyce that had punched him, shattering his jaw.

When asked why she punched him, Avalanche reluctantly said so, almost getting leaped on by Remy. Rogue coughed, trying to get Kitty's attention, but she still sobbed, holding onto Avalanche's hand. Avalanche however, looked up at Rogue with pleading eyes.

"_Please..get her to stop.."_ His eyes read, he tried his best to give Rogue a smile, but it looked like it pained it, so Rogue waved him off.

"Kitty...The meeting is starting..." Rogue spoke, her southern accent filling the room. "Ya' know, Avalanche is just fine. He just can't talk is all. You shouldn't cry...." Rogue shrugged her shoulders, look at Avalanche with a sigh. Kitty stilled sobbed.

Reluctantly, Rogue placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "It's going to be alright...when we get back from the meeting you can talk to him about your day...he can write back."

Sniffling, Kitty looked up to Rogue, her eyes bloodshot. She nodded quietly, looking at Avalanche with a small smile. "Sorry, I'm crying so much..." Kitty croaked.

Avalanche gave Kitty a wave, grabbing her hand and gently massaging it. "_I'm going to be just fine."_The gesture spoke.

Kitty smiled, waving and walking off with Rogue. "I can't wait until he can talk. He's such a sweet person, I can't picture him almost hurting Bella."

Rogue wrapped a hand around Kitty's shoulder, even though she didn't want to. "I'm sure he wasn't going too." She spoke. A part of her didn't want to be comforting Kitty, she remembered how she used to look at Bobby, and how the two got along so well. Just because they could touch. Rogue slowly took her arm away from Kitty. It was so long ago, but a part of her wasn't going to let it go. When she could touch Bobby, and be intimate with him then she would let it go.

Rogue bit her lip, pushing her hair behind her ears, as she walked into one of the double mechanical doors. In the middle of the room lay a gigantic round table, every single member of the team sitting, with the Professor right in the middle. Even Bella was here, sitting next to John and Remy. Since Remy had been able to get back up and walk around without bumping into walls, he had been hovering over Bella like a overly protective brother, causing Jubilee to get jealous. Which caused Jubilee to break up with him....again.

Rogue took her seat next to Bobby, giving him a small hug. But when she looked up, her eyes caught Remy's. He leaned back in his chair and smiled, shaking his finger at her.

"_Mon cheri is going to wait for la Gambit?"_ His eyes glistened with the daring question. He looked over at Bobby and stick his finger down his throat.

Rogue blushed, looking down, but giving him a small smile. He just wasn't going to give up. She couldn't count how many times he would bother her with the same exact question each day.

"To start things off, I know everyone is worried. But everything is going to fall into place soon. We're going to find Alyce. She is a strong girl, and she is somewhere." The Professor put his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers together. He looked over at John, then to Remy, who chuckled and scratched his head.

"I don't see anything funny about this, . Both you and John are lucky that I was able to cover up what happened. Both of you jeopardized this Mansion, and the lifes in it." The Professor looked at Bella. "You too. You could've gotten seriously hurt."

"Hey! Remy thinks you shouldn't be blaming _la petite."_

The Professor sighed, completely ignoring Remy. Acknowledging him would just get him to keep on arguing, and this meeting would get no where.

"John, what you did was reckless. The only thing justifying your actions, was because you were jealous. Learn to think with your mind next time you get hot headed."

John gritted his teeth. He hated it when this old man talked down to him. John rolled his eyes, sitting back in his seat.

"Now, first things first. We have to arrange for Avalanche to get back home-"

"I'll take him!" Kitty suddenly bursted. "I can drive him and everything..."

Logan let out a huff, suddenly making his way out of the corner of the room. "Whoa there, Kitten. You really think the Professor is going to let you take that guy to that house full of rowdy mutants? Dream big, kid."

The Professor smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Well, it's a good thing you spoke up about that, Logan. I was going to ask you to do it, but I guess I don't now."

Logan looked at the Professor ready to protest, but he knew he wouldn't win. Logan let out a huff, sticking a cigar in his mouth and going back to his corner of the room.

"Now...based off of what John had told me, while going there to drop off Avalanche, Logan, I want you to talk to the young man named Pietro."

"Why am I doing all the dirty work, Pops?" Logan growled.

"I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt. More than enough has happened, you're more than able to handle this one...." The Professor smirked over to Logan. "Besides, it'll be the perfect time for you to get some quality time with Scott."

Logan cursed under his breath. This was just great. Not only was he dropping off some snot nosed kid, who almost hurt Bella, but he had to sit in the car while Scott Summers drove, listening to his shitty music.

The Professor turned his attention back to the X-Team. "Everyone else, I want you to sit tight. Two of the team have gotten hurt enough already, we don't need someone else getting hurt. When the time comes, and if any leads pop up, then that's when we shall all act as a team."

"BULLSHIT!" John suddenly called out, getting up and slamming his hands on the table. He ignored the pain from his broken hand, and glared at the Professor.

"You're just going to sit your ass down, and make everyone else do the same while we just wait? Wait? Alyce could be hurt, she could be somewhere and can't get somewhere for help! We should all go to that stupid Brotherhood house, and bring it down!"

"Hey, kid, why don't you shut up. The Prof knows what he's doing."

"Why don't _you_ shut the fuck up, Logan?"

Bella sighed, gently placing a hand on John's arm. "John....please....listen."

John looked down to Bella, her eyes pleading. He glared looking back to Logan than to the Professor. Reluctantly, John sat back down, reaching down into his pocket and gnawing his teeth on the Vicodin.

Logan let out a powerful laugh. "Oh man! We need this girl to stay on this team!"

The rest of the team let out a low chuckle. It was true. They had never seen John shut up and listen so fast, ever. John gave everyone a glare, causing them to shut up. Bella patted his arm and gave him a smile.

"Good boy..." She giggled.

"Shut up, blond..."


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A Piano Concerto in A minor.

Logan didn't care if he had his jaw wired shut. He didn't care if he was romantically linked with Kitty. All in all, Logan just didn't care. He glared at Avalanche as the pair made their way into the garage.

"You're looking a bit too much, keep your head down, kid." Logan snarled, looking at Avalanche with a raised eye brow. "What kind of a name is Avalanche, sounds pretty stupid to me..."

"Mmmhph Hmmhph" Avalanche grumbled, still pissed that he couldn't talk. Ever since he left the infirmary, this gruffy looking guy had just kept harassing him. The only reason why he wasn't leveling out the place down was because Kitty lived here. But as soon as he was able to talk, and get back here, he was going to set this guy straight.

"Can't hear what you're tryin' 'ta say." Logan said, placing a hand over his ear. "What was that, kid?"

Avalanche rolled his eyes, giving Logan the finger, as he walked off toward the direction of Scott Summers, who waited. Logan quickly stopped him, spinning him around. "Let me tell you something, _Avalanche,_ you do anything to hurt Kitty, and it's going to be more than your jaw wired shut...."

"Logan! C'mon!" Scott shouted, sighing. Of all people in the Mansion, he just had to get stuck in a car with Logan. He wasn't fond of Logan and his 'in your face' way of doing things. The two just clashed all the time. Why the Professor had put them two together to take this kid home, was just way over his head. Scott got into the car, starting it up and waiting patiently as Logan came to the passengers side.

"Why do you always get to drive, aren't you blind?"

Scott rolled his eyes behind his ruby red visor. His plan for this trip was to just ignore Logan completely. As Scott pulled out of the drive way, he wondered how long he could go before Logan got him to crack.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Alyce sat at the wobbly table in the so called dining room. She looked down at the chipped china plate, and the dirty silverware, and immediately lost her appetite. She got up from her seat, walking over to a nearby cupboard. She opened it and looked at the rest of the dirty dishes and silverware.

"What 'ya doing, little Alyce?" Wanda asked, as she continued stirring some concoction she was making in a pot. "I told 'ya I got something cooking. Sit down tight."

Alyce looked over to Wanda and smiled. "I'm going to make some new plates and forks."

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "Make? Right. I'd like to see that."

"Nothing to really see, you won't even notice." Alyce opened up the cupboards all the way, shielding the view of the inside from Wanda. Alyce balanced on her tippy toes, touching the very top of the cupboard. She quickly brought her hands down, looking like a bored little girl rather than a mutant. A black mass traveled down the cupboard and slithered it's way up Alyce's arms, disappearing into her shirt.

Wanda looked at Alyce, then quickly checked inside the cupboard. Inside, rows and rows of different coloured plates, bowls and other kitchen items lay. Wanda smiled, bumping her hip with Alyce's.

"Very, Awesome!" Wanda smirked. "Now, you're late, you're late for a very important lunch date!"

Alyce chuckled. Wanda had been saying lines from the Alice and Wonderland movie every chance she got. And it was actually pretty funny. Alyce made her way back to the dinner table, grabbing the old plate and clasping her other hand over it. When she placed it back down on the table, it was a striped lunch plate, something straight out of a catalog she once saw.

"Off with her head!" Wanda yelled into the air, waving her cooking spoon around. She dug the spoon into the pot and walked over to Alyce, plopping the meaty confection on her plate. "It's sloppy joe, babe, eat up. Good for 'ya."

"Thanks, Wanda." Alyce smiled, digging into the red mass. Immediately, her gag reflex shot up.

"How's it taste?" Wanda asked, looking at Alyce with a scrunched up nose. "Not so good, huh?"

Alyce shook her head, swallowing, her eyes watering. "No..." Alyce croaked. "It's awesome."

Wanda let out a hearty laugh. "I know you're just being nice." Wanda plopped her self down next to Alyce, pushing her plate onto the floor. "Let's have something better. Ms. Waitress, I want a double cheeseburger with bacon. Make it happen?"

Alyce nodded, first slapping her hand on the table, making a glass of water. She drank it quickly, then motioned for Wanda to get a plate. "How do you like your meat?" Alyce asked.

"I like it so I can still hear it say moo...."

Before Alyce got to make Wanda her burger, Pietro zoomed into the kitchen. He looked anxious, worried, as if something bad was going to happen.

"Youneedtogetupstairsrightnow." He spoke in rushed sentences, grabbing Alyce by her arm.

"Hold up a sec, bro. Calm down a bit. Take a breath, nothing is going to happen." Wanda looked at her brother with a glare. He took in a deep breath, letting go of Alyce.

"Brothers..." Wanda rolled her eyes. "Now...what where you trying to say?"

"Alyce needs to get upstairs right now. A car just pulled up, with Avalanche in it, and these two other men."

"Whose outside with them?" Wanda asked getting up. "Don't tell me you sent Frederick outside?"

"Just go outside and handle them, while I get Alyce upstairs. They're asking to speak to me."

Alyce got up, following Pietro up the stairs of the house. He pushed her into his room and closed the door, making Alyce sit down on his bed. He peered out the window. "One of them has these red shades on, the other looks like a fucking bear.."

Alyce could feel her heart pumping in her stomach. "That's Scott and Logan. They must know something if The Professor sent them here."

"Yea, they must, if they're asking to speak with me..." Pietro walked away from the window. "I'm going to see what they want, just stay in here. I don't think they'll want to come inside." Alyce nodded, watching as Pietro disappeared.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Of all the mutant powers Alyce was wishing she could have, super hearing was one of them. She had managed to peer out the window, watching as Logan and Scott talked, rather interrogated, Pietro. Every time Logan would get in Pietro's face, an angry Wanda would push Logan back. The girl had guts. Even though Pietro bad mouthed her, she still stuck up for him. It was really admirable.

Alyce bit her lip in frustration. She hated having to hide like this, but she didn't want to face any of the X-Men just yet. Her head jerked to the door, Avalanche walking in.

"Hmmphmm." He mumbled, pointing to his jaw.

Alyce made his way toward him. "Look, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to shatter your jaw."

Avalanche moaned in frustration, looking around Pietro's room for a pen and paper. He quickly found one, scribbling something down and handing it to her. He ruffled her hair and gave her a quick hug, then he left the room. Confused, Alyce looked down at the paper.

"_I deserved it. Thanks."_

Alyce let out a huff, more of a quick chuckle. She flicked the paper with her finger and set it down on the bed. She was so going to frame that. Alyce quickly made her way back to the window, the scene the same way she had left it. The door creaked open again and Alyce smiled.

"Ave, that was an awesome note. Just so you kn---" Alyce turned around, just in time to catch a lunging Alison coming at her. Alyce grabbed Alison's wrist and pushed her back, a very sharp, shiny knife inches away from her eyes.

"Surprise, you little bitch." Alison growled, pushing down harder, making Alyce get down on her knees. "You think I was going to let you go so easily?"

Great. This was just what Alyce needed. Alyce strained to get up, pushing Magma back. "Another time?" Alyce whispered.

Magma got up, laughing. "Oh...I see why. Your little friends are here. You should go say hi, why not make your way out of the window?" Magma smiled, pushing herself off the wall and swishing the knife in Alyce's direction.

Alyce took a side back, the tip of the knife running across her cheek. She grabbed onto Magma's arm, twisting it and putting it up against her back. With her other arm, Alyce wrapped it around Magma's neck squeezing hard. "You beat me the first time, but this time you're not going too." Quickly, Alyce stepped forward, bending Magma over, her face ramming right into Pietro's desk. Alyce hopped back, taking a fighting stance as Magma got up, scanning the floor for her knife that had fallen.

"I'm even going to be nice, and let you keep your stupid knife." Alyce chuckled.

Magma let out a throaty growl, touching the place on her head where the desk had met it. She picked up her fallen knife, and turned to face Alyce. She lunged again, but this time Alyce was ready for it. Taking another side step, Alyce cocked back her fist, sending it right into Magma's side.

Magma staggered, holding onto her side and letting out a sick sounding cough. "I don't get it. Pietro likes you so much. Why not me?!"

Alyce smirked as Magma came at her again. But being too smug had cost her. Alyce's ankle buckled as she took a step back, sending her reaching out for something that would break her fall. And this was Magma's perfect time to send her knife down toward Alyce.

Alyce quickly caught Magma's arm, the tip of the knife practically kissing Alyce's shoulder. Magma jerked her body weight down toward Alyce, the knife taking a small lunge into Alyce's shoulder.

"You talk to much." Magma sneered, her lips almost touching Alyce's. "Once you're gone, Pietro is going to be mine."

God this chick was downright psycho. Alyce grabbed Magma's elbow, trying her best to push her off of her, but her force was just to great. Alyce looked up into Magma's eyes. "I'm sorry, Alison."

A flash of question ran itself over Magma's face. There was no way she should be apologizing. She was winning this. Suddenly, a tangy, sour liquid crept it's way up Magma's throat. It pushed it's way out of her mouth, and dribbled onto her chin.

Magma cried out in nervousness, her pressure on Alyce weakening. Was that...was that her blood? How could it be?

Taking advantage of Magma's confused reaction. Alyce got up, running toward the wall, slamming Magma into it, the two giant blades that she had formed on her arms keeping Magma pinned. "I'm sorry...." Alyce murmured, pushing on her arms so the blades could go deeper.

Magma looked down at her stomach, crying out, dropping her knife and wiping the blood that sloshed out of her mouth with her hands. She could feel the blood forming in her mouth, and some even pushing out of her nose. She looked at Alyce, both their eyes watering.

Alyce looked away. She was taking someone's life. Right now, in front of her, this girl was dying. Alyce retracted the metallic blades, taking a step back as she heard Alison's lifeless body slump to the floor. She didn't want it to be like this...but it was either her life, or Alison's. And right now, Alyce had too much to live for. There was Bella, there was her Father, her Mother. There was John.

Alyce closed her eyes, not wanting to look at Alison's face. A small black smoke made it's way into the air, as the blades on Alyce's arms disappeared into her skin.

The door to Pietro's room suddenly bursted open, and everything grew quiet.

"Holy shit......." Wanda gasped, looking at Alyce then to Alison. She then let out a hearty laugh. "The bitch had it coming!"

_______________________

A/N: R.I.P Alison....but according to Wanda, you had it coming.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44: There, There

It was just a bit startling to find out that no on in the house thought of Alyce as a killer. In fact, they were all congratulating her. Wanda had baked a cake, which actually came out pretty tasty. Pietro cleaned up the entire house to celebrate the leaving of Alison. Avalanche, the only one angry, had to sip his dinner out of the blender, and Frederick just laughed. The only one who kept pestering Alyce was Mortimer.

"How'd you do it? You don't look like the killer type."

Alyce walked around the house, trying her best to ignore him. She didn't want to mean, but he really, really smelled. It was like the equivalent of sticking your head in a rotting trash can. As Alyce walked, Mortimer hopped along the walls, climbing on the ceiling and hanging down, still trying to get Alyce to answer his question.

"Well? Should I start calling you Mad Hatter?" Mortimer plopped himself on the ground, right in front of Alyce. He began fixing his clothes, a nervous habit he had picked up. Mortimer look as Alyce glared at him, the two just staring at each other in the living room.

"It was self defense..." Alyce mumbled, trying to push past Mortimer. He hopped in front of her, landing on top of a nearby table.

"You never told us your powers....you should let us know. I'm really curious." Huddle up on the table, Mortimer stuck out his long tongue, flicking it behind his head to clean his ear. Alyce shuddered, watching as Mortimer stuck his tongue back in his mouth, then began to lick his hair.

"I just create things." Alyce began to hold her breath, her face getting red. The stench coming out of Mortimer's mouth was just to great. "Do you want an example?" Alyce spoke through her teeth. She tried her best to smile, but she was sure her face just looked as if she was constipated.

"Sure!" Mortimer exclaimed, sounding a bit too happy. "What are you going to do?"

Alyce quickly tapped the table Mortimer sat on, four black masses coming up on each side of the table and attaching themselves to the ceiling. The black mass settled, squirming for a bit before turning into glass. Alyce gasped, letting out all the pent up air she had been storing. She happily took in a deep breath, breathing in the nice clean air.

"Hey! You know, I can't breathe." Mortimer tapped on the glass, looking sad. "Make me a window or something." Alyce nodded. She placed her hand on the glass and a squiggly black line traveled along the glass case. It settled along one of the inner sides of the house and a small circle hole began to form, the view of the trees outside becoming visible. "There." Alyce smiled, waving off to Mortimer who was sulking in his Plexiglas case.

A gust of win ran right in front of Alyce. She stopped in mid stride, smiling, already knowing who it was. She was actually getting used to it, the sudden gusts of win. "Pietro." Alyce smiled, feeling her cheeks grow red.

"Madam." Pietro cooed, wrapping Alyce in a hug. "Gotta tell you, awesome stuff with Alison."

That again. Every time someone brought it up with her, a heavy weight hit her heart. Softly, Alyce pushed her way out of Pietro's strong arms. "I replaced your desk and the carpet with new ones." She even had gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, using her powers. There was just too much blood. There was no way she could go back inside that room. Even thinking about it, she could still picture Alison's lifeless eyes staring up at her.

"Oh hey....nice." Pietro took a step forward, using Alyce's shoulder as balance, as he peered over the corner. He tapped on Mortimer's case, waving.

"Get me out of here, Maximoff. C'mon, dude." Mortimer sighed, noticing he was being completely ignore again. And he was getting hungry. Looking around, waiting for Pietro to leave with Alyce, he stuck his tongue outside. If he could just grab himself a bird, or a crow, anything, it would be nice.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey. I'm going to go out for a walk." Alyce murmured, placing a hand on Pietro's back.

"You want me to go with you?" Pietro asked, as he flicked a the wind chimes that were in front of him. Before Alyce answered, Pietro spoke again. "You feel bad don't you. About, Alison. It's what that Professor has brain washed you with. On the outside world, here, not in that Mansion, it's kill or be killed. Alison and you being the prime example of that."

"Yea, you're right. I'm sure once I just get my mind cleared out, I'll be fine." Alyce took a step down on the porch, but the wood caved in and her foot sunk in.

Pietro caught her, his hand reaching for her arm. He let out a laugh. "Careful, there. Don't let the dreaded porch of doom get to 'ya." He lifted Alyce up, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

Alyce chuckled. "I'll do you the favour..." She walked around the hole she just made and gently tapped her foot twice on the decaying wood. Pietro looked down, right before his eyes the dead wood was replaced with dark oak. He watched as Alyce hopped off the front steps of the house. She stopped and waved back at him, and he returned the wave, smiling.

It was sad, how much the Professor had brainwashed her. Probably even that whole team of his. Alyce's power's could be used for such bigger, _badder_ things. The Professor just had them using little bits of it as a time. One by one, all of those members on that team were going to crack. All the pressure of not using their abilities, of storing them up, was going to come out, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The cool breeze and the smell of the pine was doing it's job. They were calming Alyce in ways she never thought. From this point on, she was going to try to get out more and enjoy the nature. Alyce smiled as she picked up a lonely daffodil that was hidden behind a rock. She was feeling like a flower child, and after looking around, she stuck the flower behind her ear.

Another breeze flew by, bringing with it the smell of rain. It seemed as if this day was going to end perfectly for her. But as Alyce continued to walk, she could feel someone following her. The feeling of being watched. Alyce slowed down her pace, her thick heavy boots crunching on fallen leaves.

"Whose there?" Alyce spoke into the air, she placed her hand on a nearby tree, claws forming. She dug her claws into the bark and looked behind her. "Show yourself..." Her eyes scanned the forest, but she couldn't make anything out. Was it a deer? Alyce began to retract the armour on her hands, when the noise of someone falling caught her attention.

"Oh! I seriously hate the woods."

Alyce took a step forward, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She watched as a slender young woman in a black suit stood up, brushing leaves from her pants. The woman looked up and smiled, taking a step forward.

"I didn't mean to startle you or anything. It's just my job." The woman chuckled nervously, looking at Alyce's claws. "You can put those away you know, I'm just here to talk to you."

The first thing that popped into Alyce's head, was she was going to get arrested. Someone from the Brotherhood called the...F.B.I, or something for killing Magma. Alyce took a step back, keeping her claws out. "What do you want?"

"Mutant to Mutant, I'm here to talk to you about a special project. We've been trying to find you for months to talk about it. But every time we've tried to talk to you, we just couldn't get a hold of you."

"What are you talking about...." Alyce wasn't stupid, this whole thing was just fishy sounding. She watched as the woman pulled back her red hair in a pony tail and pulled out a piece of paper from the inside of her blazer.

"Sorry, I just started working there, and I haven't memorized the quota." The woman laughed and unfolded the paper, clearing her throat. "We at the Special Projects Corporation, SPC, have chosen you to conduct a test on the physical capabilities of mutants and the world around them." The woman rolled her eyes and threw the paper on the ground. "To sum it up, you'll be paid to sit around all day and use your powers."

"No." Alyce spoke, turning around and continuing to walk. The woman ran up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know you must think it's weird sounding, but I did it too! They even hire you, if you do a good job."

Alyce shrugged the woman's grip off of her. "And what are your powers?"

"Me?" The woman blinked. "I can never be hurt. I have a malleable form, where nothing can hurt me."

"And what did they do to test that, shoot at you?"

The woman sighed, shaking her head. "It's a really good opportunity. They pay really well, and when you're done, they even set you up with housing. You don't look so well living in that broken down house."

Alyce huffed. This woman had followed her in the woods, probably other places as well. It sounded creepy, the entire thing sounded wacky. Why would someone just help a mutant just so they can test their powers on something. Bullshit, was what it was. Alyce hopped back, forming her pair of wings.

The woman glared at her in surprise, and shielded her face from the wind that formed when Alyce jumped into the air, flying off. The woman sighed, laughing. "You're so going to be sorry about that Alyce Red." She muttered, her voice beginning to change to a deep and manly sound.

Her body began to morph, the muscles in her arms growing bigger, her height began to grow. Her long red hair disappeared, a neat clean cut of black hair replacing it. His name was Mister Sinister. Smiling evilly, he cracked his neck and flexed his arms. Shape shifting took a toll on him. He coughed out, getting rid of any traces of the female voice he used.

"Alyce Red..." His deep voice bellowed. "I'll see you again, really soon."

__________

A/N: Oh no! Mister Sinister! I've placed a link here, to show you what he looked like, but the links won't go. :(


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Baby, just, one more time.

Pietro was laughing, and he was laughing hard. Alyce did have to hide her face, so what was so wrong with a bandanna around the lower part of her face?

"I look like a freaking child molester." Alyce chuckled, taking the mask off of her face. She threw it at Pietro who caught it and wrapped it around his face.

"Booo, look at me." Pietro laughed. He threw the bandanna out the window and pondered. "Well, I know you want to see your cousin, but you know she's going to be with that team."

"I know, and seeing them isn't on my agenda." Alyce walked back to the Pietro's bathroom, forming different types of clothes on her. She needed something to shield her face. Alyce sighed, maybe this was a cue for her to stay put. To not go out. Alyce pushed back her hair and walked outside of the bathroom, giving Pietro a sad look.

"Ok, fine. I'll go get Wanda."

Alyce smiled and plopped herself on Pietro's bed. She hadn't told him about the woman she encountered last night, and she wasn't planning on telling either. There was no reason too, but if this woman had been following her, who was Alyce to think that the Brotherhood could be in danger? Or Bella? Alyce shook the idea out of her head. That woman knew nothing about her. So there was nothing to worry about.

The door to Pietro's room opened up and Wanda walked in. "Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at." Again, Wanda quoting from Alice in Wonderland. She stood in the middle of the room and placed her hand over her chin, in a thinking pose.

"Now, I heard what's happening. To be honest, it's why I hate going to the mall. I tend to always run into guys I used to date."

"Right, guys she says." Pietro mocked his sister, grabbing his jacket from his closet.

"Yes, guys, little brother. If I were you, I would take your snow jacket..."

"Why?" Pietro huffed. "It's only going to rain."

"That's what they want you to think." Wanda winked at her brother as he left his room. Wanda turned her attention back to Alyce. "I don't think I ever told you my powers, right?"

Alyce shook her head. She could control the weather? It sounded like it, if she was telling Pietro to bring a winter jacket. Looking at Wanda, you couldn't tell she was a mutant. Not that you could tell, only with some mutants like Kurt or Beast. But it was as soon as Wanda looked at you, the way her eyes glistened, the way she smiled, it just told you to back off.

"Ok, well, I'm going to just sum it up. I don't really know much of it myself." Wanda chuckled, walking to Pietro's window and looking outside. Wanda leaned on the sill and cocked her head to the side, her ankh earrings dangling. "Are you listening, little Alyce?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Wanda chuckled. "I can affect the probability of an unlikely event. For example, we go to a casino. We go to the roulette table, I can make you win."

"So, you can give me luck? I need it bad, Wanda." Alyce smiled.

Wanda waved her off, smirking. "Something like that, if that's what you really want to think. But don't worry. Go to the mall, have some fun, steal me something pretty ok?"

Wanda walked over to Alyce and pulled on her arm, making her get up. "Wear something, like a hood to cover your face. If someone even so happens to look at you funny, then you can come to me and scream your heart out."

"Thanks, Wanda." Alyce nodded, receiving a hug from the Gothic mutant. She was pushed out of the door and down the steps by Wanda, who turned her around before she went outside.

"Have fun!" Wanda giggled, giving Alyce one last final push out of the front door.

___________________________________________________________________________

Alyce was riding shotgun, Pietro's car cutting threw the rode with speed. The sky had begun to grow darker, and by each passing hour small flurries of snow began to form. So was this Wanda's miracle to Alyce? It must be.

"Hmmmhmph." Avalanche spoke in the back seat. It was him who had gotten everyone to go to the mall. His only reason was, he just wanted to see Kitty. He reached his hands up to the passengers seat, ruffling Alyce's hair.

"Ave, I don't know what you're trying to say...here." Alyce mushed her hands together, forming a small pad and a pen. She handed it over to him and waited for him to write down what he just said.

"Hey, Alyce." Pietro spoke, turning on the wind shield wipers. The snow was getting worse and worse. He should've listened when Wanda had told him to bring his snow jacket. "You think you can make me a parka or something?"

Alyce let out a laugh. She turned around and took the pad from Avalanche. "Sure, I'll make you a parka. You should've listened to Wanda." Alyce looked down at the pad, reading what Avalanche had written.

**"_Are you going to come with me to see Kitty? I know you don't want to see them, but Kitty has been talking about you every time we talk."_**

Alyce sighed, giving Avalanche back the pad of paper. "I'm sorry, Ave. Please don't tell her that I'm with you guys. I don't want them knowing where I'm at."

Pietro let out a yawn. "Don't worry, Dominikos won't say a thing....am I right?" He looked back at Avalanche and gave him a sly grin, Avalanche giving him the finger. "By the way, Alyce, I think I'm going to need some gloves too."

**

As soon as the car had stopped, Avalanche zoomed out of the car, practically running toward the mall. Alyce made Pietro his coat, and picked up the hood on her trench coat she had made. She buckled the straps across her chest and waited for Pietro as he turned off the car. The snow continued to get worse each passing minute, the cold feeling like snaps from a whip.

Alyce rubbed her hands together, forming a pair of leather gloves on them. "It's super cold."

Pietro frowned as he got out of the car zippering up his coat, and putting on his hood, the fur shielding his face. "Yea.." His teeth chattered. "No doubt Wanda made this happen. The forecast only called for rain. Wanda can just make things happen. You ready for this?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest, huddling himself from the cold. "Seeing your cousin means seeing the rest of them."

"I'm fine..." Alyce chuckled. "I just want to check up on her. How's she's doing." Alyce bent over and picked up a handful of snow, she quickly got up and threw it at Pietro. He growled, watching as Alyce ran off. He shook his head, she knew damn well he wouldn't use his powers in front of all these people. Or would he?

Pietro was daring him self. He watched as Alyce stopped running, the distance from them great, and waved. "Ok...I see the game you want to play..." He mumbled to himself. He gathered some snow that had gathered on his car, and looked around. The coast was clear. He zoomed his way toward Alyce, the snow behind him flying up into the air. As soon as he got close to her, he threw the snow ball.

Alyce sputtered, the crunchy cold ice filling her mouth. "Low blow." She sputtered.

"Suck it up." He laughed, giving Alyce a little push and watching as she fell into a pile of snow.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Bella was feeling like a little kid. Being at the mall was supposed to be fun. Kitty was at the ice cream shop with her boyfriend, having fun. Rogue was with her boyfriend, having fun. Jubilee was with her boyfriend, having fun. And Bella? She was stuck with John. Not only was she stuck with him, he was making her wrap her arm around his, just so 'no one got anything in their heads'. Whatever that meant.

So here was Bella, with John, not having fun. And it was pissing her off.

"Can I let go of your stupid arm now?" Bella growled, trying to pull away. John pulled her back next to him.

"Just shut up. The only reason you got to come was because I agreed to keep you in my sight."

Bella rolled her eyes, pulling away from John with a big tug. "I can be safe. I'm not the one blowing up coffee shops!"

"I'm not the one...being stupid." John glared at Bella. "Get over here."

"No...make me." Bella smiled, sticking her tongue out to John. She took a step back and began to sprint across the mall. She laughed as she could hear John cursing. She felt bad for taking advantage of the fact that he still couldn't walk right from the accident he had, but it was still funny. Bella quickly turned, yelling her apologies to the people she passed. She was about to make her way into a underwear store, something she knew John wouldn't step foot into, when she saw someone.

Someone very familiar.

Bella skidded to a halt, cocking her head as she squinted her eyes. The white hair just gave it away. The way he walked, so full of himself. His stupid, rich looking jacket. How his sneakers matched his shirt. It was him. Pietro.

Bella folded her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. He did save her at the coffee shop. Sure, he was cute. He was charming, but, something was telling Bella that he knew where Alyce was. And she was going to follow her instincts. Gathering her courage, Bella made her way toward him, her shoes clicking on the floor, hard.

She slowed down her pace as she watched him window shop, still not aware of her presence. What was she going to do? Was she going to wait for him to see her, or just follow him? No, she was going to confront him, and that was the end of the story. No if, ands or buts.

"You!" Was the first thing that popped out of Bella's mouth.

Pietro looked around, seeing no one else but him. So who was this girl calling out too. Confused, Pietro turned around, pointing to himself. All the humour washed from his face when his green eyes met a pair of the same colour. "Oh God...not you again."

"Yes, me! My name is Bella." She stuck a finger in his face. "Where is Alyce?!"

She was loud. Pietro groaned, grabbing Bella's finger and pushing it down. "Don't point in my face. And I don't know where she is. How should I know? You're not here to issue me another death warning are you?"

Bella pulled her hand out of Pietro's grip, glaring at him. "Nothing is going to happen..." Bella got close to Pietro. "But it will if you don't tell me where Alyce is."

Pietro was noticing a red colour on Bella's cheeks. Was she actually blushing? Time to turn on his charm. He placed his hands on Bella's shoulders and brung his face close to her. "Look, you're cute. You really are. You have spunk. But I don't know where your cousin is, ok? I think if I did, I would have her right by my side."

Bella flushed, turning her face away and stepping back. "Y-y-you're lying." Bella stammered.

Pietro chuckled. It was true. He didn't know where Alyce was. As soon as they had walked inside the mall, they both went their separate ways. And it was a good thing too, or else Bella would've found what she was looking for. But Pietro felt bad for the girl, Bella. She looked sad, disappointed. Maybe he could tell her something....

Pietro picked up Bella's hands and held onto them. "Look, I can tell you one thing, and one thing only."

"Yes?" Bella asked her eyes full of hope.

"He's going back the fuck off, is what he's going to tell you." John pulled Bella to his side, huffing with anger as he looked into the eyes of the guy who had injured him. Bella pushed herself out of John's grip, giving him a firm push to the chest.

"You have BAD timing!" Bella yelled, her eyes watering. She turned her gaze back to Pietro, but he was already gone, leaving nothing but the traces of his cologne in the air.

"What the fuck do you mean! He could've hurt you!" John growled. He was only trying to protect her. He shook his head, running his hand threw his hair. This was like Alyce all over again. He was only trying to protect her that day he found Pietro, but instead she had disappeared.

"He was going to tell me something about Alyce!" Bella yelled once more. She covered her face with her hands, plopping herself on the floor in sadness. This could've been the only chance to find out where Alyce was. And John had ruined it. She almost had it, Bella almost had Alyce. And it was because of John, Alyce had slipped right threw her fingers.

She let herself be picked up, as John brought her to her feet. "We'll go find him..." John mumbled, feeling as if his heart was breaking. He knew he had just fucked up, royally fucked up. But he couldn't help it. The way Pietro was looking at her, made his skin go on edge. He gathered her into his arms and the two began to walk.

Where would he be if he was a white haired mutant?


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Singing in Monochrome

Alyce was trying hard not to cry. She couldn't allow herself to cry, she was better than that. But hearing Bella upset, crying on the floor, hit her heart. This was what Alyce was doing. Being selfish. She left for her own personal reasons, not even thinking of how Bella would feel. Alyce took one last final look over the level of the mall she was on, watching as John picked up Bella and the two walked away. She leaned her back on the railing, taking off her hood and running a hand over her face. As much as Alyce wanted to go and tell Bella she was fine, she couldn't risk it. She would give it an hour, before everyone on that team knew where she was. Bella just couldn't keep somethings to herself.

Alyce rubbed her temples in frustration. If John hadn't done what he did at that exact moment, she knew Pietro would've told her something. A new feeling washed over her. All she wanted to do, right now, was to go where John was and just fall into his arms.

She missed them. She missed Remy's French words, and Jubilee's constant bullying. She missed Bobby secretly hating her, and Rogue being a cute little southern belle. She missed Kitty blabbing for hours on the phone, showing her texts messages. She missed Logan, and his fatherly advice. She missed Bella, and her bubbly, courageous spirit. But most of all...

Alyce missed John.

She suddenly realized why he was, the way he was. And Alyce knew what she was going to do. She was going to chase after John and Bella. She was going to go back to the institute, she was going to go back home. Alyce was ready to hop over the balcony, when a hand stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

Alyce looked back, a man in a black suit and shades glaring at her. "Fuck, off." Alyce spat, thinking it must be someone who worked for the cops. They couldn't stop her, she was a mutant. Alyce shrugged the man's hand away, but he pulled her back down, flashing a badge.

"I work for the Special Projects Corporation. The SPC. I am here to offer you one last offer."

"I said no the first time." Alyce glared, feeling the anger bubble inside of her.

"Are you sure that's how you want to answer?" The man asked, pushing his badge back into his blazer.

Alyce looked at the man with a question. Just where did these people come from? "I think that's my fucking final answer, Regis Philbin. You guys better leave me alone."

The man suddenly lashed his hand out, a stern grip on Alyce's arm. "How about if I told right this moment, your precious cousin was being held up in a bathroom, with someone placing a chloroform rag over her face, while that stupid boy you know was dragged outside in the parking lot to get the beating of his life. All you have to do is say, yes, and nothing will happen to them."

Alyce let out a laugh, the man in the suit taken aback. She scratched her face and looked at the guy.

"Well, I'll have to tell you, you guys are in for a big surprise." Quickly, Alyce formed armour over her hand, sending it right towards the man's face. The punch connected, the man's shades flying across the mall.

A couple of people stopped mid step, a few of them screaming as the man fell to the floor with a thud. Some rushed to the man, while others began to rush for Alyce. She took this as her cue to jump. And that was exactly what she did. Alyce jumped over the railing to the balcony, her body falling fast as she was about to hit the floor. Alyce plastered her hands on her sides, her trusty black tentacles forming out from her hands, and helping her land safely on the level five floors below. Alyce looked around, meeting the eyes of an elderly couple, who had just witnessed what she did.

"Go get 'em, deary." The old woman spoke, giving Alyce a wrinkled smile.

Alyce smiled, her tentacles picking her up and pushing her with great speed in the direction she had seen Bella and John go.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bella had seen the Life Time Channel. She knew how to defend herself from a rapist. And she was going to start doing it now. She dug her nails into the arms of her captor, the man letting out a moan in pain. His hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams. He tightened the grip around her neck, pulling her into the nearest bathroom.

Bella kicked and dug her nails harder into the man's arm. She sent her left leg back, kicking the man in his legs with all her might. The man buckled, but his grip around her neck was not. Bella stuck out her hands grabbing onto the entrance of the stall as the man dragged her in.

"You're going to shut up!" The man spoke, his thick accent sounding fierce. He turned Bella around, avoiding her strong kicks, and pushed her on the toilet seat, one hand holding her down as he reached into his pocket for the chemical filled rag.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Bella screamed, her hands scrambling around for something she could pry off and throw. She placed her hands under her and began to try to push her body off of the cold porcelain toilet.

It was bothering her more that she was on a disgusting toilet. She kicked her legs, as fast as she could. She knew she was hitting him, but he just wasn't budging. She held her breath as the man pushed the rag onto her face, as long as she could keep holding her breath she was going to be fine.....but how long could she?

The man shook her, trying to get her to release her breath. But she wouldn't. He pushed the rag harder on her face, but Bella wasn't going to give up. She could feel her face going red, her lungs burning, aching for air. Bella couldn't give up....she just could not....

Suddenly, the rag around her face dropped, the pressure from the man disappearing. Bella coughed, leaning forward, bracing herself as she took in deep breaths of fresh air. She was never going to underestimate a toilet, ever again.

*

Alyce held the man by his collar, throwing him up against the wall. She glared into his scared dark brown eyes. Her hold on his neck tightened and the man thrashed around, fighting for air. Alyce leaned forward, getting right into the man's face.

"Do you see how I look? Do you see my blue eyes?"

The man looked at Alyce, his eyes already getting blood shot. Spit sputtered out of his mouth.

"I'm going to be the last thing you're ever going to see on this Earth."

With all her force, Alyce threw the man across the bathroom, sending him knocking into the handicap stall, his head meeting the concrete wall with brute force. Quickly, she sent one of her black tentacles to close the door, so Bella wouldn't have to see the mess that had happened.

Alyce took in a breath and turned around.

"Alyce...." Bella whimpered, rubbing her neck and still trying to take in air. "Alyce...." She murmured again, tears forming in her eyes and running down her cheeks. She scrambled her way out of the stall, throwing herself into Alyce's arms. "Alyce!"

Alyce wrapped her arms around Bella, squeezing tightly. "I'm here now, Bella. I'm here. I told you I would protect you. I told you, didn't I?" Alyce closed her eyes and rested her chin on Bella's head. Her sobs echoed throughout the bathroom, making it sound more worse than what it already did.

Alyce pulled Bella off of her, she cupped her cousin's face in her hands and wiped her tears away with her thumbs. "Don't cry, Bella..." Alyce croaked, feeling her own tears beginning to form. "It's fine..."

"No..." Bella sobbed. "Why did you leave me?"

Why did she leave? Finding no answer for Bella's question, Alyce wrapped her into another hug. "I'm sorry, Bella. But, now we have to go ok?" Alyce pulled away from Bella and held onto her shoulders.

"John is in trouble, we have to, ok?"

Bella nodded, wiping her tears away from her face. She began to walk out of the bathroom when Alyce stopped her.

"Nope, we're going to go a bit more faster than that..." Alyce smiled as she pulled on her hood and scooped Bella in her arms. Before Bella could register what was happening, she could see the floor speeding fast under them, the wind hitting her face drying the rest of her tears.

Bella could relax now.....she was safe.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Alyce leaped into the air, scanning the ground underneath her for anyone she could leave Bella with. She couldn't go and help John, if Bella could get hurt by the other agents. Alyce continued to look, her wings flapping hard, trying hard to beat the vicious winds that were blowing. She held onto Bella tighter, making sure she wouldn't be cold.

Then, that's when Alyce spotted it. The massively huge Hummer that Jean had once used to take them to the Mall. And around the car, were the members of the X-Team. Also.....Pietro? Alyce stopped, hovering, and stood still. What was Pietro doing there? She could understand Avalanche, but Pietro? Alyce scanned the rest of the people there, John being held back by Bobby, no doubt because of Pietro.

"Alyce, I'm cold..." Bella muttered.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Alyce whispered, she squeezed on Bella's shoulder, making her a thick coat. Alyce had a decision to make. She could either, leave Bella in the parking lot and have her make her way to the team, or, suck it up and do it herself. Alyce continued to fly, knowing what she was going to do.

"Bella..." Alyce spoke, looking down into Bella's green eyes. "You know I love you...right?"

Bella smiled, giving her a wink.

"Hold on tight." Alyce murmured. She felt bad for what was going to happen, but she couldn't stay. She couldn't stay with Bella. All she could do was leave her with the people she knew would care for her. Alyce stopped flying, her body falling fast.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, the wings on her back melted off, the black matter falling to the ground with a wet slap. A gust of wind blew into the air, spraying the falling snow all over the place. Alyce looked up from her hood, as she let Bella go from her grip. Pietro had disappeared, and so did Avalanche. And here was Alyce, in front of all the people she had abandoned. In front of all the people she betrayed.

What she wasn't expecting, was the hard fist that connected with her face, sending her stumbling back.

Remy pulled Bella back, placing himself in front of her, protecting her from this person who had her. He cracked his fist and looked at the person, he was ready for anything. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt Bella. "_La petite_, is ok?" Remy asked, holding onto Bella.

Bella watched as Alyce took a step back, her hand up to her face, blood coming out of her mouth. Her face still shielded from view by her hood. "NO!" Bella cried out, trying to run out toward Alyce, but Remy was held her back.

Why? Why was he doing that? Couldn't he tell it was her? It was Alyce. Bella's mind was racing, she couldn't find herself to form any sentence. Just incoherent sputters.

"Who are you!" Bobby suddenly called out, taking a step up.

Bella looked around, the entire team getting ready to attack. "NO!" Bella sobbed, crying once more, clutching onto Remy's arm. She watched as Alyce suddenly disappeared, a white flash blinding her vision.

"ALYCE! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Bella screamed into the cold air. "Don't leave....not again...."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: :( Yea, don't leave, Alyce.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Breathless and Blue, and behind your eyes, the sea.

John walked up to the door of the bathroom, lightly knocking on the door. "Bella...you sound like a dying cow when you cry...."

This was John's way of making her come out. So she can forget what had just happened and fight with him instead. But no matter what he was saying, she just wouldn't come out. John sighed, feeling useless. He couldn't believe he had let himself be dragged away from Bella, by those two guys that had approached him. Whoever they where, he had given them a good beating. But, Bella was saved. By who?

John sat down on Bella's bed, a headache coming on from the thinking he was doing. If he heard Bella right, then it was Alyce. But her face was covered, why would she cover it? John let his head hang into his hands. Then Remy. He punched her. Confusion wrapped itself around John's brain. He just didn't know what to think. Everything was going upside down. John looked up as the door to the bathroom opened, Bella stepping out.

"Bella....was that rea--"

John was cut off, as Bella walked toward him, placing a kiss on his lips. She cupped his face in her hands, and continued to kiss, not caring what was going to happen when she stopped. John grabbed at Bella's wrists, trying to push her back, but she placed herself on top of him, kissing him even harder, and he gave in.

And Bella kept kissing, seeing that John was doing just the same. Tears formed in her eyes as she did so, her mind thinking of Alyce. How could she leave, again? Did she really not care for her? Bella pulled apart from John's kisses, throwing her hands around his neck and burying her face in his neck.

John wrapped his arms around Bella's waist, hugging onto her tightly. If that was really Alyce, then he had lost her again. But he wasn't going to loose Bella.

"John..." Bella murmured, kissing his neck. "Don't leave me...."

John took a hand from Bella's waist, pulling her face back to his. "I won't leave you, Bella." He murmured, before placing another kiss on her lips.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pietro was kneeling in front of Alyce, a warm cloth in his hands. He said nothing, but placed the warm cloth on Alyce's lips were the blood was coming from. He had seen what happened, in the seconds he was running to get to her. He just wasn't fast enough to prevent her from getting punched, and it pained him. He had let her get hurt.

Alyce grabbed onto Pietro's arm. She could already feel the tears in her eyes, and this time she wasn't going to stop them. The first time she was really crying, and she felt stupid. She locked her eyes with Pietro's and hugged onto his arm.

Of all the people on that team, Remy was the one to hit her. After all he said. He would be the one to protect her in the end, when things got rough. And it was all a lie. She had locked eyes with Remy as soon as he threw his punch, he had seen her face. But he still decided to punch.

Pietro stood quiet, getting up and bringing Alyce into his arms. "I told you.... I told you they would hate you...." That entire team was stupid, thinking it wasn't Alyce.

Alyce clinged onto Pietro, letting all of her emotions come out. They should've recognized her. Remy of all people, should've known it was her as soon as he saw her wings. She had carried him the exact same way she was carrying Bella. How could he have not known?

"What am I going to do?" Alyce sighed.

Pietro patted Alyce's hair, thinking of what to say. "Right now, there is nothing you can do."

At least Bella was with people who would protect her. Remy had proven just that. Alyce look up into Pietro's eyes. She was here now. She was with The Brotherhood. "Pietro..." Alyce muttered.

Pietro looked down into Alyce's eyes. She didn't have to say anything else, because he knew full well what she wanted. Slowly, he brought his face close to Alyce's and placed a kiss on her lips.

This was where Alyce was going to mark a new beginning in her life. She was finally going to let go of the X-Men. She wasn't going to think about them anymore, she wasn't going to worry about John, or Remy. She wasn't going to care how they got about their daily lives. This was it.

Alyce was done with the X-Men.

____________________

A/N: Yes, short chapter. Just think of this as a reaction chapter. More to come tomorrow! Stay tuned~


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48: She Had The World Pt 1

Two weeks in the Brotherhood felt more like two months. Alyce didn't know exactly why it felt that way, it just did. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining and the trees were swaying. She was in a little house, and everything had a fairy tale feeling to it. Everyday she woke up with a smile on her face, and every night she went to bed just as happy.

It really wasn't so bad here. And these were supposed to be the bad guys.

It was such a better feeling to be here, than the feelings Alyce got when she was at the Mansion. She would wake up there, with dread, wondering what Jubilee would be planning for her. Every where in that Mansion was loud, she couldn't find a place to think. Every single minute of each day she would be with the X-Team. Over here, at the Brotherhood, whenever she wanted to be alone, all she had to do was either go outside, or sit in Pietro's room and read.

The members of the Brotherhood looked like they always got themselves into trouble, but it was actually quiet the opposite. The only thing that was a frequent problem was the parties. Alyce had been a first hand witness of the Chaos that is only known as, 'Wanda's Party'. And it was quiet a sight to see. On rare nights, sometimes even every night, mutants from all over would flock into the Brotherhood house. Mainly, from a group called The Morlocks. But it turned out to be fun, Alyce had even got Pietro to enjoy it.

Alyce stretched her arms up, putting her pencil down and cracking her knuckles. It had been ages since she had drawn something, and she had missed it. Alyce picked her pencil back up, looking back at Wanda, who was fixing her car outside.

The two had gotten close, as the length of Alyce's stay grew. And as Alyce would go about her day, Wanda would shout out quotes from Alice in Wonderland, and Alyce found herself replying back. They had even memorized a few lines.

Wanda stood up, getting out from underneath her car. She wiped the smudge marks on her face and looked over to Alyce, who was busy sketching.

"Who-Are-You?" Wanda asked, speaking in long drabs. She was going to be the smoking caterpillar this time. The one with the hookah pipe.

Alyce chuckled not looking up from her sketch book. The two had even watched the movie over, so they would get the quotes right. Alyce looked up from sketch book and smiled. "Why, I hardly know, sir. I've changed so much since this morning, you see... "

Wanda let out a laugh. "We know our movies, don't we?" She asked, opening the hood of her car and clanging her wrench around.

Alyce nodded, getting back to sketching. If Alyce really had to compare this place to the Mansion, she would call it a retiring home. Nothing ever happened here, there was no weekly training sessions, or classes to take. It was just wake up, and the day would make it self known.

"Hey, Mouse, let me see what you're drawing?" Avalanche sat down next to Alyce on the porch. Everyone called her different nick-names. Avalanche had begun calling her Mouse, from the mouse who slept in the tea-pot from the movie. He had went back to the Mansion about a week ago, to get the wires in his jaw taken out. He couldn't believe how fast it had healed, but then again it was Jean and Hank who mended him up.

Alyce handed over her sketch book to him, tapping her pencil. "What do you think? I haven't drawn in ages."

"Well, you made Wanda look way more cuter than she actually looks." Avalanche laughed as Alyce nudged him the ribs. He gave her back the sketch book and laid back on the porch. "Hey, I'm going to go see Kitty, in a bit. Want to come with?"

Alyce sighed, closing her sketch book. She didn't know what Avalanche was trying to pull, but every time he went to go meet up with Kitty, which was a lot, he always asked her the same question. And always, she responded the same way.

"No."

"That's pretty lame. I mean look, I'm from the Brotherhood, and I still hang with her. So can you."

"Our situations are completely different." Alyce spoke, getting up from the porch. She leaned on the staircase railing and looked down at Avalanche. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

Avalanche sat up, throwing his hands in the air. "Nothing...nothing up my sleeves. I'm not even wearing a long sleeved shirt." He got up from the porch and patted Alyce on her shoulder. "I'm just letting you know, no matter how Pietro sounds, they'll still welcome you back."

"I wouldn't think so."

"Why wouldn't they?" Avalanche questioned. "I've known Pietro for years. And when I tell you this, I know. He tends to exaggerate much of the time, he doesn't know he's doing it. But he does." He patted Alyce's shoulder one more time, and proceeded down the steps. Alyce watched as he walked into the garage and in a few minutes roared out on the road on his motorcycle.

It was good that Kitty and him where doing so well. It was cute the way he blushed when he spoke about her to Alyce. He would even ask Alyce help on what to buy her. It was adorable, you could just tell her really liked her. Every time he left though, Alyce had to fight back the urge to tell Avalanche a message.

"_Say hi to John for me? Bella, and Remy?"_

There where times when she had almost said it. But she had decided weeks ago, that she wasn't going to worry about them. She wasn't apart of their lives anymore. Shrugging the thoughts out of her mind, Alyce opened the screen door and made her way into the house.

"Alyceeeeee." Came a voice from the living room.

Alyce placed her sketchbook on a nearby table and walked into the living room, catching the eyes of Frederick.

"Alyceeee." He wined again, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Blob cannot find the remote."

"Did you check if you're sitting on it, again?" Alyce asked, watching as he got up from the couch. He looked from where he sat and smiled.

"Oh. Thank you, Alyce." He smiled, grabbing the remote in his big hands.

"Wait don'--" Alyce called out, but it was already to late. The Blob had already plopped himself on the couch, breaking it. He looked up at Alyce and chuckled. "Uh oh.."

From outside, Alyce could hear Wanda. "AGAIN?!" She called out. Frederick broke so many couches, but it really wasn't his fault. He just wasn't aware of his massive strength or weight. Alyce walked toward Fred and patted his shoulder. She placed her hand on the couch, and it popped back into place. This had to be the 30th couch, this week, she had fixed.

*

Where was Pietro? The last place she had seen him was, up in his room, sleeping. But it was already into the late afternoon, could he really still be sleeping? Softly, Alyce made her way up the stairs and opened the door to his room.

And there he was, still sleeping.

He turned on his back, letting out a breath. His white hair, that was usually slicked back with gel was bedraggled, falling into his eyes. The way he looked right now, began to remind Alyce of someone. But she wasn't going to admit to herself who she was thinking of. She pushed the thought out of her mind, and made her way to Pietro's bed. She sat down on the edge, and gently placed her head on his chest.

His heart was beating fast, super fast. But it was Pietro, his body was always moving faster than he could think. He suddenly woke up, placing his hands over Alyce, a sleepy chuckle escaping his mouth.

"You scared me."

Alyce smiled as she sat up. "It's late. Get up."

Pietro moaned, pulling his pillow over his head. "I'll only wake up, if you give me a kiss."

Alyce shook her head, rolling her eyes. It was the same routine every day. She wondered how she always fell into it. She snatched the pillow away from Pietro's face and quickly placed a kiss on his lips.

"You see, was that so hard?" Pietro asked, zooming off into the bathroom.

Alyce smiled to herself, sadly, sticking her hand up and catching the blanket that had been thrown up into the air by Pietro's speed.

It _was_ hard.

Even though she was thinking of Pietro with her mind, Alyce knew full well who she was thinking of with her heart.

_______________________


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49: She Had The World Pt 2

Bella had been doing this every morning for the past week.

As soon as her eyes would flutter open, she would get up out of bed, turn on the stereo, and just dance. Half the time she wasn't even really doing dance steps, just jumping around with her arms in the air. By the time she was done, she would be happy. Tired, but happy. She would then hop into the shower, brush her teeth, and do the things girls normally do.

After she would dress, she would clean up the room she slept in. Most of the time, she would force herself to whistle a tune. This really wasn't her room she was cleaning, it was Alyce's. Every time she would pass by Alyce's desk, she would see the family pictures. After the day Alyce left, Bella turned all the pictures flat down on the desk. She didn't want to see any of them. Those pictures were taken at happy times. Right now, there was nothing, just Bella trying to keep her mind occupied.

Bella opened the windows in the room, pulling back the curtains and looking outside. Ever since she had kissed John, he was either avoiding her or just acting funny. When she would run into him, he wouldn't even met her eyes. But he still had his jerk-sense of humour. Maybe kissing him was a bad idea? But even as she sat down and tried to understand why she had did it, no words would come to her head. It just happened. A part of her felt horrible for doing it. Alyce had told her that she liked him. That he had even kissed her. She almost felt like she was intruding. But there was a part of her that loved what she did. As if it were her own personal way at getting back at Alyce for leaving again.

The rest of the team, didn't even ask Bella why she had called out to Alyce that day. Maybe none of them wanted to think that it was really Alyce. Bella decided that keeping shut about it, would be the best thing to do. She had noticed Remy looking a bit down, and it made Bella wonder if it was because he had punched her. Did he feel guilty about it? Bella would never know. Everyone on the team was keeping to themselves on the entire matter. Even the Professor. Maybe he knew, that Alyce was with them. With the Brotherhood.

**

Bella was sitting outside, enjoying the cool breeze and the warm sun. She wasn't enjoying the melting popsicle in her hand, however.

"Stupid Icey.." Bella growled, licking her fingers where the popsicle had dried and become sticky. She quickly stuck the rest of the popsicle in her mouth, chewing quickly, not caring if she got brain freeze. Crunching on the cold confection, she stuck the stick in her pocket. She grabbed the water bottle she had come outside with, and poured some of the water on her hands.

"Having fun, Kid?"

Bella nodded her head, the rest of the popsicle melting in her mouth. "I am. Just the Popsicle made my hands sticky."

"Well, that's how those things work. I never liked 'em." Logan opened up his bottled soda, and sat down next to Bella. "What brings you out here? I never seen anyone else like it back here, 'cept for....you know."

Bella smiled at Logan, trying her best to show him that it didn't bother her to hear Alyce's name. "It's nice back here. Maybe a bit more bee's because of the flowers and stuff, but it's nice and quiet."

"Yea, it's why I come here. You kids are loud."

Bella huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Logan. "Well, you adults are loud too."

"Nice one, Kid. So, how 'ya holding up?"

"Fine....just doing things day by day. There's not much I can do." Bella sighed, leaning back on the bench and looking up into the sky. She did feel helpless. She didn't have any special powers to do things. She couldn't fly into the air or read minds. She couldn't freeze things, or manipulate fire. She was just Bella Garland. Grade A Human. What you saw, was what you got.

"Why won't anyone go get her?" Bella suddenly asked, catching Logan by surprise. "I called out her name...." Even though this had happened two weeks ago, whenever Bella thought about it, it felt like it had just happened yesterday.

Logan sighed, finishing off his soda. "You gotta think, Kid. Maybe she doesn't want to come back." Logan felt harsh for saying what he did. But that was just how he did things. Straight to the facts. "I don't mean it in a bad way, you know. I'm sure she misses you."

Bella placed her hands over her face, letting out a deep sigh. She let her hands drop back into her lap. "I want to go visit her." She looked over to Logan. "You think I should go?"

"Do you know where the place is?"

Bella nodded. "Kitty knows. Remember, her boyfriend is one of them."

"Yea, I hate the way that kid looks. Smells nothing but trouble for me." Logan snorted.

"That's just your animal senses getting out of wack." Bella laughed, knowing full well that Logan would overreact.

"You calling me an animal?" Logan raised an eyebrow over to Bella, who looked at him with an apologetic face.

Letting out a nervous laugh, Bella got up from her seat. "I think I'm going to go see her, Logan."

"Well, if you really do, tell her I said hi." Logan watched as Bella nodded and disappeared back into the Mansion. He had to admit, she was full of spunk. It was even more funny how she had John in check all the time. If anything, that's what Logan liked about her the most. It was a shame Alyce had left. From what Bella had told him earlier, she was really with them. As to why, Logan couldn't figure it out.

Logan had encountered Magneto before. Just imaging running into his kids made Logan shudder. He got up from where he sat, giving himself a mental note; _Never run into the Maximoff kids, ever._ He made his way to the side of the Mansion, watching as the garage door opened and Bella drove out in a small convertible.

"Wish me luck?" She called out, stopping the car and rolling down her window.

"Luck, Kid. Hey, listen..." Logan jogged up to the car and placed something in Bella's hands. "Use this to call, if anything happens ok?"

Bella looked at the small metallic object that lay in her hands. "It looks like something out of Star Trek." Bella laughed.

"Whatever, Kid. Just use it, if something happens, alright?"

"No problem. Thanks!" Bella waved to him again as she gently pushed on the gas with her foot. Bella was feeling like she was walking on air. She was going to take control, instead of being inside all day crying. She was going to get out there, and find her cousin. And once she did, Bella was going to scold her. She was going to scold Alyce and yell at her, and curse until she felt better. Then Bella would hug Alyce. And the two would be happy.

*

Bella turned on the radio, switching between stations. She couldn't find anything to listen too, but she didn't care. In a matter of moments she was going to see Alyce. And that made up for the lack of music. Bella lowered down the windows of the car, the cool breeze whipping in. Her honey blond hair flapping madly behind her.

Bella squinted her eyes, something lay in the middle of the road in front of her. Was it an injured animal? Bella slowed down the car and moved to the side of the road. As Bella stopped the car, she noticed the mass had grown bigger, almost taking a human shape.

A wave of fear rushed threw Bella's body, causing her to get cold. She rolled up all the windows, and stood still, watching as the black mass formed into a person. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? Quickly, Bella's hand fumbled for the small phone that Logan had given her.

"Hello, there!" The man called out, as he bowed. "You don't know me, but I know you."

Bella gasped in fear as she watched the man get closer to the car. Her hands still fumbled with the phone, how did this shit even work? Bella's hand's felt around the phone, pressing a button and the phone opened up. Immediately, she heard the phone auto dialing. Hearing the ringing washed a wave of relief over Bella's body.

"Pick up...pick up, please." Bella spoke to herself.

A tap on the window of the car caused Bella to jump.

"My dear, there is nothing to fear. My name is Mister Sinister...."

The phone was ringing as it lay in the drivers seat. Someone picked up, calling out their words into the air, but no one was on the other side to answer. The car was empty, the drivers door open and swaying about. The engine was still on, the keys still turned in the ignition. The phone hung up, the beeping echoing into the car, loudly. But there was no one to hear it. There was no one in the car.

Bella had disappeared.

_____________________

A/N: Oh no?


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50: In The Shadows.

Pietro held back Alyce with all his might. She was going to kill them. Every single member of that X-Men team, she was going to wring their necks.

"Alyce, calm down, please." Pietro spoke sternly. He had Alyce pinned up against the wall of his room, with Avalanche at the door, relaying the bad news. Pietro didn't know what to say, but he knew what he had to do, if he wanted the house to keep standing.

Alyce clutched onto Pietro's arm, gritting her teeth in anger and trying her best to prevent spikes forming around her body. If she had just heard right, if she had just heard what Avalanche had said. Then Bella was missing. And no one knew where she was. Alyce looked up into Pietro's eyes.

"She's gone...why is she gone?" Her mind was racing, thoughts moving around in her brain with great speed. She didn't know her right from her left at this point, all she wanted to do was destroy something. This all had to be a bad dream. It just had to be. There was no reason that Bella should be missing. Alyce had left her with a house full of mutants. Seven of whom were on the team. Five who were grown adults, and one very powerful telepath. How could a fragile human slip right threw their fingers?

"Alyce, you need to calm down. As soon as you do, then you have no choice but to go back. You need to go back to the Mansion."

Alyce could hear Pietro's words, but they just weren't meaning anything. "_I should've never left..." _Alyce thought to herself. A million possibilities raced through Alyce's head. What if she had taken Bella with her to The Brotherhood? What if _this,_ what if _that._

Cautiously, Avalanche took a step forward placing a hand on Pietro's shoulder. "Alyce, go and find out what is happening."

Alyce loosened her grip on Pietro and locked eyes with Avalanche.

He felt a surge of fear wash over him. The way her eyes looked right now, it seemed as if she wanted to destroy the entire world. Avalanche shook his head. "I know you never wanted to go back there again, but now you have a reason to....j_ust go_." It was a shame that it had to come down to this. For Alyce to go back to the Mansion, it had to be because her cousin was missing.

Pietro took a step back, releasing the grip he had on Alyce. He kept his hands ready, just in case she wanted to knock down the house again. "Alyce, Dominikos is right. Do you want me to take you there? I can get you there in under a second."

Alyce shook her head, taking in a deep breath. "Ave, when did you find about Bella?" Alyce was trying her best to push the clouds out of her mind. She needed to start thinking straight if she was going to find Bella. Pietro took this as a sign that Alyce was relaxing, he took another step back and walked to his bed, plopping himself down.

Bella, the girl that had confronted him in the mall. The one from the coffee shop. Disappeared? For some reason he was finding it hard to believe. Even for a human, she had guts. The way she had confronted him in the mall, made him think twice if she really was a mutant or not. Just from that one time, Pietro could tell she had no fear. She wasn't scared of anything. So did someone kidnap her? Or did she take off? Pietro was finding it hard to think of both possibilities.

"When I went to the Mansion to go pick up Kitty, she told me. Everyone on that team is on some serious edge. A few of them even confronted me about it, thinking I took her." Avalanche scratched the back of his neck, trying to shake off the thoughts of the Mansion. He had a fire mutant, an ice mutant and a sparker get all up in his face. The one with the Cajun accent, almost hitting him.

"Does anyone know anything? Like what might have happened?" Alyce paced back and forth. The more she knew here, the less of a reaction she would have when she got to the Mansion. But to her, it seemed that with each passing minute she was being here, talking to Avalanche, was minutes ticking away at Bella's life. It had to be those stupid agents she had encountered. Alyce stopped walking, looking down at the floor. A black swirling mass began to grow larger, bubbling like a hot cauldron.

"What the hell is that?" Avalanche suddenly spoke. He knew Pietro wanted to say the same thing, he just had beaten him to the punch.

Alyce cautiously stepped the tip of her foot inside the mass. "My Father taught me how to...transport myself using my abilities. This would be the second time that I've done this."

Alyce took in deep breath. "Did you manage to find out where they were going to talk?" She directed toward Avalanche who was busy poking the mass with his finger. It wasn't even hot, as it appeared to look, it was actually a bit cold. It didn't even feel solid, like it looked either, it felt more like water. It was the only way to describe it.

"Kitty told me they were going to the 'lower levels', whatever that means."

Alyce nodded her head, taking her foot out of the mass. "I'll be back later." Alyce muttered. She took a step back and hopped into the mass. Once her head was underneath it, the black mass swirled shut and disappeared.

"Dude...I don't know about you, but that is, like, totally cool..." Avalanche muttered, stepping over the carpet where the mass was and checked it out.

"I can still run faster than the time it took for her to make it." Pietro countered, feeling a bit jealous.

Avalanche snorted in laughter. "Someone getting jealous?" He asked, knowing full well that his friend was. He got up and patted Pietro on his back. Whenever it came to comparing powers, Pietro would always get a bit mad, even though he didn't like to show it.

But Avalanche knew his friend for years, and he could tell that when Pietro puffed his cheeks out, it meant he was jealous.

"You look like a blow fish!" Avalanche called out to Pietro as he walked down the stairs of the house.

"Screw you!"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: *announcer voice* Stay tuned, folks! Things are going to get crazy!


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Exit Stage Left

Alyce leaned up against the cool metallic wall. It was taking every muscle in her body to try and not wreck the entire conference room. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched as the members of the X-Team argued amongst each other. They where all trying to blame one another, when in reality they should blaming themselves as a whole.

"Weren't you the last one with her?" Bobby shouted across the large circle table to John.

"No, it wasn't John! When I left to go see Avalanche I saw Remy with her!"

Remy slapped his hand over his heart, looking over to Kitty with a shock. "_Mon ami, _Remy is hurt that you would think that...."

They where just wasting time. Alyce let out a quiet sigh. It felt weird being back here, being only a few feet away from the people she used to work with. None of them hadn't even noticed her yet. Not the Professor who watched them bicker, or Logan who was busy chatting with Jean and Storm. Upon first glance, it looked as if none of them even cared.

Alyce clenched her firsts. She knew exactly who it was to blame.

"Everyone needs to calm down." The Professor spoke calmly. "Something was sent to us, just a few moments ago. We know where Bella is."

Right then, Alyce almost leaped off the wall she relaxed on. Her breathing grew fast. "_Hurry and tell us then!"_She thought to herself. The sooner she knew, the faster she could go to save her cousin. Alyce watched as Jean handed The Professor a shiny CD. The Professor popped it into a nearby player. He turned before he pressed play, looking at everyone in the room.

"Before we see this...everyone needs to calm down. What we're going to see here, isn't going to pretty."

"Just fucking press play!" John shouted.

"_Thank you, John._" Alyce spoke to herself. The Professor nodded to Jean and she pressed play. The tape began to play.

* *

_Fuzz washes on the screen, the sound of someone whimpering in the background. The camera turns off, but then turns back on, focusing on someone sitting in a chair. Her hair is messy, in front of her face, and when she looks up into the camera her face is tear stained. She struggles to get out of the restraints holding her against the chair. But she can't move. The most she can do is rock her body back and forth, the chair bolted to the dirty water stained floor. _

_She lets out a gasp, crying out, tears forming back down her face. She looks to the left, the sound of footsteps being heard. _

"_Please..." She whimpers, looking down into her lap. _

_A figure walks close to her, running it's hand along the chair. He stands behind her, grabbing her face and forcing her to look into the camera. _

"_Say hello to everyone..." He lets out a sinister laugh, running his fingers over her face. _

_She begins to cry, her whimpers soft. _

"_SAY IT!" The man growls, fierce, grabbing her face hard. _

_She lets out a cry. "H-h-hello..."_

"_That's better...now...tell them what I told you to..." He takes his hands away from her face. He gently passes a napkin over her cheeks, wiping away her tears. _

_She bites her lip, thinking if she really should. "Screw you!" She shouts. _

_And he slaps her. Hard. _

_Bits of blood fleck to the floor and she looks back at the camera, sucking on her bottom lip, blood coming out. "Please..." Her eyes search for the man. "Please, just let me go. I've never done anything to you..."_

_He laughs. "It doesn't matter. That's how things are in the world. Good things happen to good people."_

_The camera shifts, the face of Mister Sinister showing. He smiles, his red eyes glistening. "I hope, all of you take this seriously."_

_The sounds of the girl whimpering becoming louder and louder. And she begins to scream in fear._

"_Nothing will happen to this girl. But for each day we wait, something will. In return...we want that girl. Alyce Red must come." Mister Sinister laughs. "And Logan.....Wolverine.....I think you know where to direct her...."_

_**_

"**THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT**_!" _Alyce shouts, running toward The Professor. Angrily, her black tentacles lash out, knocking over the circular table and throwing it against the wall. Quickly, everyone runs back, avoiding the black mass. A clawed hand reaches out, grabbing The Professor right out of his chair and into the wall with a force.

"You should've seen this coming!" Alyce growls, her voice sounding nothing like her. Full of rage, and anger. "You should've known!" Suddenly, a force pushes Alyce back, her grip on the Professor drops.

Logan makes his way toward Alyce, wrapping his arms around her and holding her back. He grits his teeth, the pain of Alyce's claws ripping into his skin. Logan pushes Alyce back against a wall, holding her there with all his might.

"I'm going to kill you!" Alyce shouts out, digging her claws deeper into Logan's arms. She grips at him, trying to push herself off the wall.

"He is not the one to blame here!" Ororo calls out, running toward Jean to help the Professor up off the ground. "None of us saw this coming!"

"Bullshit!" Alyce growls back. "You should've been watching her! She's only a human!"

"Everyone just get out." Scott calls out, directing his words towards the junior members of the X-Team.

A scared Jubilee clinging onto Remy. Bobby holds onto Rogue, the table almost hitting her if it wasn't for Kitty who phased both of them out of the line of fire. Piotr is the first to begin to walk out, his organic steel form shining. One of Alyce's tentacle had knocked right into, sending him flying into a nearby cart, how he managed to get up after the force of the hit, surprised him. He walked out of the room, everyone else following his example.

John just didn't know what to think. This person, this girl who had come into the room out of thin air, it seemed. It wasn't Alyce. The way her eyes looked, angry, it wasn't Alyce. The way her face twisted, with rage, it wasn't her. He took one final look at her, as he exited the room.

Her eyes met his...and for the first time in his life, John could say that he was scared. Scared of the girl he loves.

__________________________

A/N: O:


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Bitemarks and Bloodstains

So she had been with The Brotherhood. It was only logical if she showed up right after Kitty told Avalanche. Remy was thinking to himself. He was thinking, what were the chances of Alyce actually hitting him back. After seeing her in the room, he was pretty sure that not only would he be getting a punch, but his entire face might be punched off.

Remy threw himself into Jubilee's arm, letting his worry wash threw him. "_Mon ami..._Remy did not mean to punch you. If he had known that it was really you, then he wouldn't have done it!"

Confused, Jubilee patted his back. "Remy, it's ok. Alyce won't hit you." Jubilee was really too busy thinking she might get hit herself. All the countless pranks she had pulled on Alyce when she first got here. It was a miracle she didn't explode back then, like she did now.

It was bothering Kitty that she couldn't hear what was going on in the room. She was tempted to phase her ear threw the wall, maybe she could hear something then. But she knew the Professor would know what she was up too. So, what Alyce said had some truth in it. Maybe the Professor should've foreseen Bella getting kidnapped.

Rogue was cuddled up in Bobby's arms, still feeling sick from when Kitty had phased her. Her mind couldn't think straight either. She took in a deep breath, the smell of Bobby's cologne filling her nose and oddly calming her down. Would Alyce finally stay this time? After they all went to save Bella? Even though the two never spoke to each other much, Rogue liked having her around. She was quiet, but when she did talk, it was full of sense and knowledge.

Bobby massaged Rogue's back. He looked over at Piotr, the two shrugging. A part of him felt as if he was being mean, but, he still wanted Alyce off the team. Her powers were downright destructive, and the way he saw her in there, she looked more of a monster than an actual person. Maybe he wasn't giving himself a chance to really get to know Alyce. There had to be more to her than her quiet, dangerous persona.

Piotr didn't want to know what was going on. He rather much stay in the back round of things. He liked his life to be simple. Wake up, go about life, then go back to sleep. When he really got riled up over something, it was only over his art. And this was where missing Alyce came into play. He liked looking at her art. It was sort of like a secret challenge the two had going between them. One would draw something and the other would try to make it even better. While she was gone, Piotr had no one to challenge. He was getting a bit bored of drawing comics mocking Bobby and Rogue.

John. Saint John Allerdyce. What was he going to do with himself? Right now he couldn't see what was going on inside that room and it was bothering him. But he knew something was going to happen. And after this, he wouldn't get to see Alyce for a while. Why he was getting such a feeling he didn't know. But the feeling to be with Alyce was just to great. The more he thought like this, however, the more weaker he felt. He felt as if he was already giving her his heart, and it bothered him that she didn't know how much he loved her. To sum it all up, he felt like a sissy.

Everyone looked up, upon hearing the door swoosh open. Scott Summer walked out, looking at all of them. "Everyone needs to go back to what they were doing."

"But what about Bella? And Alyce? Is she staying?" Kitty asked the main questions that everyone else was thinking.

"Everything is going to be taken care of. For now, everyone needs to just calm down."

"I want to see Alyce...." John murmured. He could feel the eyes on him as he finished his sentence. He looked up at Scott with stern eyes.

Scott sighed. He could imagine how John must be feeling. There was nothing secretive about how John felt towards Alyce. Scott walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alyce had calmed down. But her powers hadn't. Every time she shifted in her seat, a black tentacle would wither around, sometimes even slapping on the floor in impatience. It was like they had a mind of their own. "_I'm not Doctor Octopus.."_ Alyce thought to herself, looking at her tentacles with a grimace.

"I'm sorry Professor....you too Logan. I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine, my dear. Any one would've reacted the same way you would've."

"Heh, it's alright, Kid. I've seen my share of cuts and bruises."

Alyce looked down from everyone's eyes. She felt as if they all thought of her to be crazy. Or maybe they all thought she had gone mad.

"Judging by what Sinister told us, then Bella has to be at Alkali Lake. Right, Logan?"

Alyce snapped back to attention upon hearing Jean's gentle voice. Feeling useless upon the matter, Alyce just decided that staying shut and paying attention would be the most she could do. Logan sat down, running his hands over his arms. The rest of the gashes that Alyce had made had completely healed up.

"Why would he take her to Alkali Lake?"

"Stryker is still there. I have a feeling that it really isn't Bella he wants. I'm sure she'll be fine from an experimentation that Sinister made have led us to believe."

Logan looked at the Professor with wide eyes. "So you're telling me that he wants to experiment on Alyce? Shouldn't we be warning her father and mother?"

Alyce shook her head. "No. I got Bella and I into this mess. My father knows I can handle this fine. Calling him in, along with my mother would be a waste of time. I know it might sound harsh, but that's how it is."

"But you're still only a teenager." Jean spoke, placing a hand on Alyce's arm. "We're all going to help you with this. Together."

"It doesn't matter. Sinister only wants me. If all of us show up, then the chances of Bella staying alive are slim to none. Just let me go in by myself. If I don't get out of there in a couple of hours, then you have every reason to worry." Alyce shocked herself. She was sounding more like a 30 year old than an 18 year old. "Besides...." Alyce continued. "I don't care about what happens to me, I only want Bella to be safe."

"You may think that way, Kid, but we care what happens to you."

Alyce ran her hand over her face. "Look, just tell me how to get there."

"Alyce you can't go al--"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The Professor suddenly spoke, interrupting Jean. He leaned his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers. "I have faith that you will do prevail, but going into the compound won't be easy. There are high chances that even though Bella might come out alive, you won't. If that is where Mister Sinister is, then Stryker will be there as well. He doesn't take kindly to mutants."

"So then why is Sinister working for him?" Alyce asked, confused.

"Stryker only uses the mutants he can get something from. In this case, kidnapping Bella. Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Like I said. I'll go in and get Bella out. I owe that much to her for leaving. If I hadn't left, then none of this wouldn't have happened."

"On the contrary." The Professor spoke. "He probably still would've shown up. But taking you and killing Bella...."

An eerie silence filled the room as the thought of what the Professor just said entered their minds.

"Before we get out of hand here, I know someone who might help." Logan says, getting up from his seat. "She's an old friend of mine from back in the day. I'll get a hold of her, and then things can start happening, deal?" Logan looked at Alyce, making sure his words were understood.

"Alright..." Alyce muttered.

Jean, upon seeing Alyce's sad reaction, walks over to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Alyce. Bella is going to be fine."

Alyce nodded, feeling tears welt up behind her eyes. "I know, Jean...I know."

Jean sat down next to Alyce, taking her hands in her and squeezing them lightly. "By the way...Scott just told me something...."

Alyce looked into Jean's eyes. Scott hadn't been in the room, but Alyce knew how the two had communicated.

"Someone wants to see you......"

A heavy weight hit Alyce's heart. She knew who Jean spoke of. So why did she feel so nervous? She hasn't seen him in weeks. It felt as if she was going to be introduced to someone entirely new rather than someone she had shared some moments with.

"He misses you, Alyce...."

_______

A/N: He does miss you, Alyce! Shame on you for leaving.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Twisted Neck

As soon as she had opened up the door, John pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body. It was his way of showing how much he needed her. How much he wanted her while she was gone. John was never good at expressing himself with words, only action. And he was going to show Alyce how much he missed her.

Alyce was taken by surprise. How fierce his kisses were and how tightly he held onto her, she knew that leaving him was the biggest mistake of her life. All the worry and fear washed from her body, and she truly felt at ease. She wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his kisses with more strength. She missed him, she really did miss him.

His hands moved up her back, his fingers tangling up in her hair and his kisses moving down to her neck. It felt more like a dream, what was happening. There was no way that she was actually in his arm, but her heavy breathing was telling him other wise. The way she held onto him, like she really needed him with her, was telling him other wise.

She felt herself thinking of only him. Right now, caught up in this moment, nothing else mattered. But the thought of Bella was pushing itself in her mind. Gently, she pushed away from John, her back meeting the bedroom door.

"John, I have to go soon...."

John looked into Alyce's eyes, his heart beating faster with each minute. He took her hand into his and pulled her over to the bed, where he sat down looking up at her with pleading eyes.

"_Don't go..."_

His eyes spoke for him. And Alyce didn't want to. She didn't want to leave his side. But there was Bella. Bella needed Alyce to rescue her. But Logan hadn't said anything about getting in contact with his friend. At least not yet. Did Alyce have more time? More time to be with John?

Her emotions began to take control of her body. She made her way close to John, sitting on top of him and giving him more kisses.

Flashes of what happened between Bella and him flashed throughout his mind. He found himself doing the same thing he did that night, he grabbed onto Alyce's wrists, pushing her back. He felt guilty for kissing Bella, that night that he did. And right now, with Alyce on top of him he was feeling even more guilty.

"John..." Alyce whispered into his ear. "Stop thinking, and just kiss me."

His hands moved away from her wrists, gently cupping Alyce's face and bringing her back to meet his lips. She placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down on the bed. While they weren't talking, their lips where still moving, a lot.

A shock of reality hit John right in his heart. There where times when she was gone, and he wondered if things like this would ever happen. If she would even come back to the Mansion. She had to leave again? John wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing her down harder on top of him. How far would this go? Right now, if it was really up to him, it would go beyond this. If it was up to him, he would start taking off her clothes, but in the end it wasn't up to him.

A knock on the door caused him to jump. But Alyce kept right on, her hands finding the buttons on his shirt and beginning to pop them off.

"Alyce..." John whispered, catching his breath in between the kisses she was giving him.

The knock on the door became louder. "Hey, Kid, you in here?"

Alyce placed one last final kiss on John's lips, getting off from the bed. He held onto her hand as she got up, and grabbed tightly as she made her way to the door. She looked at him, wishing she didn't have to leave. Their fingers interlocked, their hearts still beating fast. They looked at each other, as if this would be the last time they would see each other.

"Come back, this time?" John asks, his voice low, hoping that she will agree.

"I will...."

She takes a step back, her body rigid. She doesn't want to go. But she has too. Her fingers still locked with his, she takes another step back, the grip becoming loose. She turns to go answer the door, and their hands fall apart.

And she leaves the room.

And she leaves him only with memories of what just happened. He can still feel her kisses on him, he can still smell her perfume and feel the ticklish feeling of when her hair brushed against his face.

He laughs to himself, his hand running over the bed, collecting the buttons that she had popped off from his shirt.

_____________________

A/N: Short, yes. But it was hard to write this and keep it at a level where everyone can still read it. Reviews on this short, little love scene?


	54. Chapter 54

A/N: This character that I am going to introduce, Charlotte Pennington, IS NOT MINE! All credit goes to fellow reader, wicca in training, who gave me the honour of writing up her character and using her in my story. :)

Chapter 54:_ ¡Oye! ¡Esté Tranquilo!_

Her name was Charlotte Pennington. But, please, call her Charlie.

And right now, she was in a bit of a dilemma. It was cold outside, that's how it was in Canada. But as much as she had been subjected to the cold, she still never learned to like it. She'd rather be back home, in Honduras, but Logan needed her help. So, here she was. In a small dilapidated log cabin, sitting smack dab in the middle of the woods. And her dilemma? There was no hot chocolate mix in the cabinets.

"_¡Jodienda mierda!" _ She swore, kicking the sink with her combat boots. Her gloved hands grabbed at the cabinets. If she had remembered correctly, she had told Ray to bring some before they got here. But knowing him, he forgot.

So what was she going to do? She was supposed to be waiting for some girl. Charlie made her way back to the small wooden table that sat in the middle of the cabin. She propped her feet up on the table and grabbed a semi automatic gun. She breathed onto it, and began shining it off with a small rag. In all honesty, she didn't even remember the girl's name. But who cared, anyway? All she had to do was point her in the right direction, give her a map and wish her good luck.

Ok, maybe she was being a _bit_ mean.

Meanwhile, a very sleepy Ray Crisp lay in bed. He was still wrapped up in his Special Op's outfit, his heavy black parka zippered all the way and the hood covering his head. It was _fucking_ cold. A part of him didn't want to wake up, but he had to eventually. He was also going to have to deal with Charlie's wrath, of forgetting the hot chocolate mix. But he was the infamous Berzerker. His codename that he loved. He rolled over in the small wooden bed, hugging himself. It was better than Charlie's code name, Psycho.

But nonetheless, he still loved her.

He yawned, trying his best to keep quiet so Charlie wouldn't come in and yell at him. But a small squeak of the bedroom door caused him to freeze. She knew that he was awake.

Charlie let out a laugh, twirling the gun in her hand. "Ray, c'mon...." She could feel that he was nervous. One of the many perks of being a mutant. One of her abilities being to sense emotions, being an empath sometimes was just too cool.

"It's cold, Charz. Besides, when is this person finally going to come?"

"That's what she said!" Charlie laughed. She settled her gun on a nearby table and walked over to the bed Ray slept in. She plopped herself down next to Ray, pushing her short black hair behind her ears. Her grey eyes looked at Ray, huddled up in his parka.

"Get up. You need ta' tell me what's goin' on with the broadcasts. You owe me for not gettin' the chocolate mix." She nudged him in the side, not waiting for a response. She got up, grabbed her gun from the table and walked back to the kitchen. She plopped herself down back on the wobbly wooden chair, waiting for Ray to come out of his room.

**

"How are you _not_ cold?" Ray asked, coming outside of the room and sitting down next to Charlie. Her sleeveless turtle neck was making him feel even more cold. Just looking at her in general. He sat back in his seat, his teeth chattering. He knew she had worked for S.H.E.I.L.D before hand, but did they really do everything in the cold?

Charlie leaned over on the table, giving Ray her best smile. "What do the broadcasts say, _chulo." _

"Give me a second. I haven't went in yet..."

Charlie laid her head on the table, a chuckle bubbling out of her throat. "That's what she said..." She looked up, watching as Ray sat silently. Part of his powers enable him to tap into nearby radio broadcasts. Extremely handy on any mission. She continued to wait, her mind floating back to what Logan had told her earlier.

"_Hey, kid. How's it going?"_

"_Same old shit, Logan. How's it goin' with you?"_

"_Alright, I need a favour from you..."_

"_Anythin' for you, chulo!"_

And that's when he had told her about this girl. She was going to infiltrate the Alkali Lake Compound. _By herself_. Even Charlie, herself, knew that doing that was just a suicide mission. With the way that place was guarded, it was a miracle if that girl would even be able to knock on the front door.

"This is Delta to Echo, do you copy?" Ray began to mimic. Charlie lifted her head off of the table, looking at Ray with wide eyes. She had been waiting for something all day, it was probably the most exciting thing to happen.

"Delta, this is Echo. What's the problem? We got orders from the top, increase the guards around the parameters. Echo out."

"What the fuck! Is that all?!" Charlie slammed her hands on the table. She leaned back on the chair and let out a sigh. They had been in this stupid cabin for hours, and this was the only thing?

Ray let out a laugh. "If they know that girl is coming, she must be something else if they're putting out extra troops. Didn't your friend tell you that she was going to rescue her cousin?"

Charlie leaned back up in her chair, wobbling from side to side. "I want some candy....but you're right. I don't really know much, but I guess seein' is believin', ain't that right_, tirón."_

Ray sighed. "Hey if you're going to start calling me names in spanish, consider this the last time I help you."

"Awww! C'mon!" Charlie got up from her seat and threw her arms over her mutant lover. "You know I love 'ya." She placed a kiss on his cheek, feeling the warmth as he blushed. She was about to place a kiss on his lips, when a knock was heard at the door.

"Someone's banging hard..." Ray chuckled, knowing full well what Charlie was going to say.

"And...that's what she said!"

**

Alyce walked into the small log cabin, her hands holding the collar of her trench coat. It hadn't taken her that long to get here. Logan had showed her a picture of what the cabin looked like, and she was in Canada in a matter of seconds. Logan wasn't also kidding about how cold it would be.

She sniffled as she tapped her boots on a small rug to get rid of the snow that had caked itself on. Alyce looked up, meeting the eyes of a slender young woman.

"I'm sorry if I'm late."

"It's alright, _chica, _you're the one that's goin' inta' the compound?"

Alyce nodded, noticing the woman's Spanish accent. It made her sound fierce. Quietly, Alyce took off her hood, her eyes caught another pair and she waved to the man who was huddled up in his coat. Charlie motioned for her to sit down at the broken down table. She walked to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a large rolled up map. She placed it on the table and opened it up, motioning for Ray to hold down the edges.

"Ok, sweet cheeks, listen up. My name is Charlie and this is Ray." Charlie looked down at the girl with a sad face. She could feel that the girl was nervous, but she had a strong spirit. She admired that.

"Now, Ray just intercepted a broadcast from the _pendejos_ outside. They've increased security around the base. Ray is goin' ta' be hearin' out for any other updates, but right now it's me and you."

Alyce nodded, getting up and taking her place next to Charlie. She looked down at the map, which looked old. The tips looked as if it had been burned and the paper was a crunchy looking yellow. Alyce's eyes had fluttered around, looking at the various guns that where hung up on the walls. This would be the first time Alyce had seen one up close, and they looked bigger in real life than what she saw in movies.

"Alright. So, here is the entrance ta' the base, but goin' there and knockin' on the door ain't gunna be happenin', you'll get shot on site."

The thought of getting shot made Alyce shudder.

"And let me tell you somethin', _chula,_ there is no way I'm drivin' you ta' no goddamn hospital...."

"You don't like them?" Alyce asked.

"I don't _do_ hospitals." Charlie growled. Forcing the images of the white hospital walls out of her mind, Charlie slammed her hands on the map. "The best bet for you ta' enter this shitty mess of a base, is through here. There's a small vent on the side of the sewage system....."

"Do you have any pictures of how the inside look?" Alyce pondered aloud. "If you did, I could just transport myself there.....it's not really my goal to slither threw a sewage system."

Charlie let out a laugh. "You hear that, Ray? When I was doin' ops with S.H.E.I.L.D, they had us crawlin' threw much dirtier places...stop bein' such a fuckin' wuss." She patted Alyce's back with a firm slap, causing Alyce to jerk forward. Alyce wasn't surprised in anyway how she was acting. She was Logan's friend after all.

Ray sighed, giving Alyce an apologetic look. "We don't have pictures, is what she means."

"Anyway! Back ta' fucking business." Charlie pulled out a red marker and opened it. She began circling different spots on the map. "There are many ways ta' get in, but I'm lookin' out for you and trying to find you a safe spot."

Alyce shook her head. "Any way is fine with me. I want to kill as many of them as I can."

Charlie, taken a back, looked at Alyce with wide eyes. "Now....this is the type of girl I like!" Charlie laughed and made her way toward one of the walls. She picked a shiny sniper rifle off the wall and hugged it. "I get ta' use my, baby...._ay dios mio..."_

Alyce laughed, but her face suddenly grew serious. "They took my cousin, in order to get to me....no matter how they die, I just want them dead."

Charlie stood her sniper rifle up on the floor, leaning on it and crossing her legs. "_Chica,_ let me tell you somethin', goin' in there isn't goin' ta' be pretty. Anythin' but. The people who work there are disgustin'. The main _pendejo_, who runs that joint is a man called Stryker. Heard of him?"

Alyce nodded, playing close attention to this woman. She felt as if she could learn everything in the world just by listening to her talk. "I've heard of him. Also someone called Mister Sinister..."

Charlie sucked her teeth. "_Él puede ir se joden....._" She rolled her eyes. "If you know Logan, you must know about the Weapon X project. Goin' in there means you won't be comin' out the same person. Even if you had us helping you, Styker works fast......"

"I'm ready to do what I have too...."

Charlie sighed, kicking up her sniper rifle and catching it as it fell into her arms. She looked over to Ray, who gave her a thumbs up and began to put away the map. "_Mida..._you're a strong kid ta' just want ta' go in there. Logan is a grown man, and hearin' him talk about it, is nothin' but scary."

Charlie lifted her rifle on the table and began walking around the cabin, grabbing rows of bullets and attaching them onto her belt. "_Chica....._"

"Yes?" Alyce looked up from the rifle that lay on the table.

"How fast can you run?"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Glossary _de el _Psycho**

_**¡Oye! ¡Esté Tranquilo! **__- _Hey! Calm Down!

_**¡Jodienda mierda!** - _Fucking Shit!

_**Chulo **__- _Cute Boy

_**Tirón -**_Jerk

_**Chica **__- _Girl

_**Pendejos –**__ S_tupid (really offensive when said in spanish)

_**Chula - **_Cute Girl

_**Ay Dios Mio -**_Oh my god

_**Él puede ir se joden - **_He can go fuck himself

_**Mida - **_Look


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55: House of Secrets Pt 1

Alyce realized something after she had ran a few yards. What she was doing was crazy. Her legs burned, picking them up against the weight of the deep snow. The wind whipped at her face, and little flurries of snow pushed themselves into her mouth. Something warm hit her face, a warm liquid.

Alyce knew it was blood. Alyce could hear cheering all the way from the hill top where Charlie had set up her sniper rifle. She was an insanely good shot. Alyce pushed her arms forward, trying to lift herself up off the snow, three suited up guards where right in front of her, aiming their assault weaponry right at her head.

But Alyce kept running. She closed her eyes, hearing three fast gunshots. They echoed in the air, so close to Alyce that her ear drums popped. Alyce huffed, her lungs burning for air. She pushed herself past the dropping bodies, some of the them even still standing. She was getting close to the main entrance of the Alkali Lake Compound.

Alyce turned around, quickly waving in the air, if Charlie could see her. Her body soon pushed up against a metallic door, and Alyce reached her hand threw it, a black mass forming on the door. Alyce pushed the rest of her body threw, falling down onto the floor. She let out a breath, sucking in more air. Her legs were burning, and right now they felt like jelly. Alyce looked up, her eyes focusing on the long tunnel that lay in front of her. The entire place was dark, except for a few windows that lay on the very top of the ceiling. Alyce let out a small moan in pain as the muscles in her legs began to cramp up.

She dragged herself to the very corner, where the gigantic door met the dirty brick wall. The floor was wet and grimy, and she could hear mice scattering around. How was this even a main entrance? Bracing herself up against the wall, Alyce slowly got up. Gently, she patted her legs and they began to loosen up. She let out a sigh of relief. Alyce looked down the tunnel, her eyes adjusting to the darkness.

Her hands pressed together, she was tempted to make some sort of light source. But from what Charlie had told her earlier, this place was ridden with cameras.

It had to be, if they where stealing mutants and using them as experiments. Alyce began to wonder if anyone ever escaped....besides Logan.

Taking in a deep breath, Alyce pushed herself off the wall and took a step forward. This was it. From now on, every step she took in this dirty, filthy place would be to save Bella.

**

Bella had found out that she could run out of tears. She had been crying for hours on end, the only thing reminding her that she was still trying to cry was the sharp moans that came out of her mouth. She had long been taken out of her chair bondage, and now she was huddle in a heap on the floor.

Around her, see threw glass walls lay, connected at the corners. Bella looked up, watching as different people in lab coats walked by, not acknowledging her at all. Men. Woman. None of them caring, not even glancing at her as she sobbed. She couldn't hear anything outside of her little enclosure. Bella sat up, pressing her hand against the glass wall. She watched as the scientists scurried around, some stopping to use a large computer counsel, a number of screens attached to it. Bella hung her head low, scientists running around with blood flecked across their white lab coats. Where was she?

Was anyone going to come for her? They must've realized that she wasn't at the Mansion. That she had gone missing. Did they notice?

Bella slammed her fist on the glass table, ignoring the pain. "Hey!" She called out, punching harder on the glass. "Please! Anyone! Anyone of you..._please_...let me out...." Her voice faded as she realized that no one was even paying attention to her.

**

He walked up to the glass, looking at the girl who huddled in the corner, sobbing. A part of him did feel sorry for her. She was only human after all. But her world was plagued. Plagued with the foul disease known as the X Gene. Plagued to live in a world full of disgusting mutants. He opened the glass case and stepping inside.

"My dear, why do you cry?" He asked. The girl looked up to him, with sad eyes. He could tell that she knew better than to trust him. It was a look all to familiar to him. A look plastered on everyone who worked here. It was better to be feared, than loved. The girl didn't answer him, and he let out a chuckle.

"Nothing is going to happen to you." He reassured her, walking up to her and squatting down. He picked up her hand and squeezed it lightly. "She is here....and she thinks she is going to save you."

"Alyce?" The girl muttered, a flash of hope in her eyes.

"Yes." He nodded, smiling. "Once we capture her, you're free to go..."

"What?"

"Her kind, are not liked in this world, my dear. It is my job to exterminate them, one by one. To make their lives full of pain and sorrow. And you've helped me! Taking you was the best thing to happen, it's a good thing you didn't put up a fight...or else, I'm afraid, you would've been dead."

The girl slipped her hand out of his grip, taking it back and looking at him with a grimace. What was this man saying? Who was he? He looked at her threw his glasses, another smirk on his face.

"And I don't think you being dead, would be good for both sides. Don't you agree?" He watched as the girl's face twisted with sadness, her hands coming up to her face. She began to sob, loudly, taking in loud breaths of air.

"Don't cry. From now on, you will remember the name William Stryker. For I am the one who has spared your life. Each moment that you breathe is a gift from me." He patted her head and got up, making his way out of the glass containment.

Bella took in a deep breath, ready to scream.

"FUCK YOU!"


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56: House of Secrets Pt 2

As Alyce had continued to walk down the long tunnel, she had begun to hear voices. Whenever someone talked, their voices echoed down the tunnel. They sounded more like ghosts than actual humans. Right now, however, Alyce was feeling like Spider Man.

She had retreated up the murky concrete wall, her tentacles attaching to the ceiling and holding her up. She moved quietly up against the walls, not wanting to pass any security cameras. She had already passed ten since she started walking down the tunnel, it just wasn't ending.

"Hey did you hear about that girl that's in the main cell?"

"The blond haired girl? I feel sorry for her..."

Alyce pressed herself up against the wall as tight as she could. She looked down, watching as two scientists chatted lightly as they passed each other. She wanted to jump down and bash their heads in the wall, but she held back. Maybe if she kept on listening, she would find out more about where Bella was.

"From what I'm hearing, Stryker _really_ isn't going to do anything with her."

"What's the miracle? I'm telling you, if I don't get out of here sooner or later, I might go insane. I can't stand hearing the other ones scream."

Other ones? So there was more mutants here? Or did he mean humans? Alyce watched as the scientists walked into a nearby door, completely disappearing from view. Should she follow them? Or see where this tunnel led her? What was stopping her from just making herself a lab coat and walking around with a clipboard?

Alyce shook her head at her own ideas. Eventually this tunnel would lead to somewhere in the compound. So she continued down. The further she got, the louder she could hear different screams. She could hear the sound of buzz saws humming, and the wet sound of..._something._ She felt as if she was in a terrible horror flick. Everything here, just confirmed every single horrible cliché that, Alyce had seen in movies. She continued down the tunnel, different openings in the wall emitting a neon blue glow. Alyce was scared to look inside, the shadows that passed in front of the light where scary enough. Some shadows flinging their arms madly, others with...._more_ than two arms. Other's with what seemed to be no arms at all, just a wiggling torso flopping madly in front of the light.

Alyce placed a hand over her mouth, swallowing back the bile that crept up her throat. Whether they were humans or mutants, she had no idea. But what Stryker was doing here, was down right sick. Alyce made it a point, that if she did see Stryker before she saved Bella, she would definitely try her best to kill him.

Suddenly, a flashing light began to emit down the tunnel. The red light blinding Alyce every time it passed her eyes. An ear splitting siren sounded into the air, and Alyce clasped her hands over her ears. She looked down, gritting her teeth, watching as an endless amount of armed soldiers made their way around a corner and down the long tunnel.

"We got containment breach in cell 05. Put him down!" Yelled one of the masked men. He motioned for some of the soldiers to go in front of him and some of them knelt down, their guns pointed at one of the cells Alyce had just passed. With horror in her eyes, Alyce watched as one of the door to the cells flew open, something coming out of it.

Would this be her if she got captured?

The thing growled, spit bubbling down it's massive defected chin. A part of it's body was significantly bigger than the other side, and whether it had been a man or a woman, Alyce couldn't tell. Her body was frozen, she didn't want to be here, watching what was happening. But the fear that was surging throughout her body was forcing her to stay put. She flinched as the sounds of guns fired off. The deafening roar of the creature letting loose into the air.

But as quick as all of this had started, it had stopped. The siren stopped ringing and the red lights faded.

"Someone clean this shit up!"

Alyce closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. Her ears were ringing and she could feel her heart pounding in her throat. She watched as some of the soldiers kicked at the fallen experiment. A few of them even laughing.

"Report this to Stryker.." One of them spoke, and Alyce began to follow the one soldier who left the flock. She was the wolf and he was the lonely sheep.

*

**

*

Alyce felt like all of this was a trap. Right now, she was looking down at Bella. Bella in her little glass containment sobbing on the floor. Alyce high up on the ceiling. But there was no one around. It was just too easy. All Alyce had to do was get down next to the glass, walk threw it using her powers, grab Bella and transport out of the facility and back into the Canadian wilderness. Get back to Charlie's cabin, call the X-Team and boom, happily ever after.

But Alyce knew this had to be a trap.

She was fast enough? Wasn't she? Her plan seemed full proof enough. Maybe she just needed to stop being so scared. To take the risk and just try. She just couldn't fail. Failing meant, Bella and her would be stuck in this hell hole. And if Stryker lived up to his hype, then Alyce was going to end up another failed experiment. Slowly, Alyce lowered herself down from the ceiling. She was holding back all the emotion in her. All she wanted to do was cry out to Bella and greet her with a hug.

This was it. She wasn't going to think. She knew what she had to do.

Dropping the rest of her weight on the floor, Alyce made a mad dash toward Bella. She was going to do this, she was going to make it. She was about 2 feet away from the glass, when a jolting shock hit Alyce's legs. She fell, her chin banging on the hard floor. Her whole body tightened up, her teeth gritting together.

Painfully, Alyce reached her arm out dragging her body toward the glass. She could feel the muscles in her legs spasming out of control and her whole body felt as if she was being electrocuted.

Bella looked up, her eyes fearful. She dragged herself to the glass, placing her hand on it, watching as Alyce convulsed on the floor.

Their eyes met.

Determined, Alyce pushed herself. She had to get to Bella. She reached her hand out, the pain in her arm causing her to cry out. Her finger tips brushed against the glass when something pulled her back. The pain stopped, and now her body was just numb. Alyce wanted to move, she wanted to. But no matter how hard she pushed, nothing in her body would respond. Someone turned her around, putting pressure on her as her back touched the floor.

Her vision was blurry, and all she could do was mumble incoherently. Someone rolled up the sleeve on her arm, more hands keeping her held down. Someone covering her eyes with a black cloth.

"This is going to suppress your mutant gene, Alyce Red." Came a voice close to her ear. She felt something cold against her inner arm, and the small prick of a needle.

"When you wake up, you're going to feel what it's like to be a human....."

As soon as the cold needle left her arm, a surging pain filtered throughout her body. Her back arched, and her body stiffened. The only thing she was able to do at this point, was scream.

And she was _screaming....._


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57: House of Secrets Pt 3

Opening her eyes served to be quite the task.

But it didn't matter, right now, Alyce was trying her best to not throw up. She hated it. But her body was exhausted, weak and sore. She couldn't hold back the vomit as it pushed itself up out of her throat and into her mouth. She spit it out, rolling over once she was done so she wouldn't lay her face in it.

Her bare arms rubbed against the dirty floor, and Alyce realized that her long pants had been replaced by a pair of shorts. She held back another gag as she felt her thighs rub against something slimy. Rolling back on her stomach, Alyce struggled to hold her head up. She opened her eyes as much as she could and tried her best to survey the scene around her. From what she could make out, it looked like she was in a seclusion cell. Minus the puffy wall and floor guards. There was a drain in the middle of the floor, the stench from it was horrible. Alyce brung her hand to her face, feeling around her chin at the gash from when she fell.

Then she remembered. Her powers.

Alyce closed her eyes, focusing on her arms to form her claws. How had she got them to form in the first place? She never thought about it, she just wished it to be there and it happened. Alyce opened her eyes, looking down at her hands. Nothing.

Struggling to get up, Alyce made her way to the wall. She placed her hand on it, waiting for the black bubbly mass to form. Nothing. She thought of her armour, but nothing formed around her body. Anxiously, Alyce slapped her hands together. She squeezed them tight, thinking of the most simplest thing she could do. A bottle of water. She opened her hands, but nothing. Biting her lip, Alyce closed her hands again, opening them up. But still, nothing formed. Alyce buried her face in her hands. Her powers....

Her powers were gone.

How could this be?

A wave of anger rushed throughout her body. She found the strength to get up and make her way to the gritty iron door in front of her. She banged on the door with her fists.

"Let me out!" Alyce yelled. If only she had her powers, if only she could just form....something. She would feel better. She couldn't do anything. She was truly helpless. Alyce pushed herself away from the door and plopped herself back down on the floor. She brung her knees to her chest and hugged onto her legs. What was she going to do now? She didn't have her powers anymore. This time, she really couldn't save Bella.

**

The door to Alyce's cell opened.

She got up quickly, but was pushed back against the wall by two soldiers. She kicked and thrashed her legs around, but their grip was solid. A fist met her face and she stood still, biting onto her lip.

"When I get my powers back....you two are going to die..." Alyce growled, hanging her head low and spitting out the blood from her lip. The two soldiers let out a laugh, mocking her.

"You hear that? My name is Alyce and I'm a depowered mutant scumbag..."

The other soldier laughed. "I hear it just fine. When I get my powers back, I'm going to..._killlll_ _you_...dream big, missy."

The two shared another laugh, before stopping. Another person entering the cell. Alyce looked up, a short man walking in, the gleam on his glasses make him look like a mad scientist. He walked up to Alyce and placed a hand under her chin, lifting up her face.

"How is my newest test subject doing?" He asked, his voice soft. His thumb pulled down Alyce's lip, looking at the newly formed gash. "Did you hit her?" He asked, his other hand adjusting his glasses.

The soldiers looked at each other, nervous. "Uhh, yes Colonel Stryker...."

Alyce opened her eyes wide. So this was Stryker. Alyce jerked her head out of his grasp and he let out a laugh.

"Which one of you hit her?" He asked, rubbing the blood that fell on his glove. He looked up at the two soldiers and waited for an answer. The two looked at each other nervously, stammering their words behind their masked faces. Surprising Alyce, Stryker pulled out a small pistol. He aimed it for the two soldiers and quickly pulled the trigger, their grips on Alyce loosening. Turning on his heel, Stryker snapped his fingers, and two more guards walked in, grabbing onto Alyce and dragging her outside of the cell.

The light from the outside was bright. She closed her eyes, the light stinging them. All around her she heard banging, more screams, even sobs. Alyce squinted, looking around and seeing that there were, indeed, other cells lined up together. Some of them were see threw, and Alyce could make out huddled figures of people. Her feet lifted off the floor, as the two soldiers picked her up by her arms, walking behind Stryker.

The place looked like a hospital. IV poles littered around, and moving surgical tables lay. Alyce noticed that there were more female doctors, than male ones. Why was that? Didn't women get attached to things more easily? Alyce caught the eyes of a few doctors, each of them staring at her as she went by. Just by looking at them, Alyce didn't need powers to know that something bad was going to happen to her.

"Where's Bella!" Alyce shouted, kicking her legs in the air and struggling to get out of her captors grip. But everyone ignored her, no one even so much gave her a second glance. Stryker kept walking, the soldiers following him.

*

She was slammed down into a chair, straps placed around her legs and arms. Her head was held back by another strap, and a iron link chain was strapped around her chest. Alyce breathed heavily, scared. She just wanted to go home with her cousin. She just wanted to be at the Mansion, sleeping in then waking up to greet John. She just wanted to call her Dad, her Mother, and tell them how much she missed them. She wanted Bella to force her into girly clothes, and do her hair. Paint her finger nails, _whatever_. Alyce just wanted to anywhere but here.

"Alyce...what is it going to take for you to crack?" Stryker's voice asked.

Alyce didn't answer. She rolled her wrists around, trying to get get free, but she was tied in tightly. She tried to move her head, she just wanted to get out. She bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. Was she going to die? Was Bella already dead?

"Ok, you don't have to answer now...but I have something here, that might change your mind."

The light in front of Alyce's eyes turned off, and her eyes focused on the scene in front of her. There was Bella.....her face dirty and her hair tangled. Her clothes looked wet, the colours of her once vibrant apparel seemed to be, instead, a dull grey. She looked up, a scream unleashing itself out of her mouth at the sight of Alyce. A hand reached out, and slapped her across her face.

Alyce's body itched to get up. She dug her fingers into the arm rests of the chair, trying to push her body up off the chair.

"Alyce. Just. Give. In."

"What do you want from me!" Alyce called out, watching as another hand lashed out and slapped Bella.

Stryker let out a laugh. "Do you want to be in my experiments....rid you of your terrible mutant disease, and cure you?"

"Just leave Bella alone...." Alyce whimpered. "Just leave her alone...do what you want to me...just not her..."

"Why do you care for her so much? If anything she should be killed for even being related to a mutant. She might even have an X-Gene....I would be doing the world a favour if I killed her....."

"No...don't hurt her....Bella...Bella is the most sweetest person anyone could ever meet. She's courageous, and strong. She's stronger than I could ever be. Not in a trillion life times, could I understand how kind she is, or how loving....please...._please_, just leave her alone."

"You're right about her being strong.......she would be an amazing test subject...."

"PLEASE!" Alyce yelled out. "Leave her be, just leave her alone...I'm here. I'm the one you wanted. Just let her go..." In a million years, Alyce never thought she would have to beg like this. She felt like an abused dog, whimpering in the corner every time someone came home. But if it was to save Bella's life from this shit hole, Alyce would get on her knees to beg if she had too.

"You may have just convinced me....it's amazing you filthy creatures have the ability to feel compassion...." Stryker turned his head, signaling something. "Start it up! I want to hear her scream..."

"But Stryker....she is only a young girl! We've only done this to older specimens, she's only 18!"

"Do I have to go over there and do it myself?"

"No...my apologies....right away, sir..."

Alyce closed her eyes, listening to the conversation Stryker was having with another female. She could hear Bella sob as a loud noise hovered over Alyce. A machine settled itself over Alyce's body, tiny points of weight pushing against random spots on her skin. Alyce had no idea what was going on, she shuddered in fear as something placed itself on the back of her neck.

"Commencing procedure...." A woman spoke.

Alyce bit onto her lip hard, a horrible pain felt on each spot that was placed throughout her body. Something was drilling itself into her skin, she could feel her skin twisting. Alyce clenched down her teeth on her lip, and suddenly her teeth clicked together as she bit right through her bottom lip.

Her body couldn't take the pain, and her vision began to grow dark.

"Stryker! Her vital are diminishing, we need to stop this process now!"

"No! You do as I say, and keep with it."

"Stryker! She is going to_ die!"_

The last words Alyce heard echoed throughout her mind. Was she really going to die? Was this it? Was she going to be lifted into the sky, or sent falling? Alyce didn't care. Bella was going to be alright soon.

That was all that mattered to her....

________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: For those of you who are wondering; "Where the hell are the X-Men!?" They're coming right up in the next chapter :)


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58: House of Secrets Pt 4

Alyce's eyes opened, the stinging rush of water greeting them. She blinked her eyes fast, her hands reaching up to her face, an oxygen mask tightly pushed against her mouth. All over her arms, small circle spigots lay, tubes connected to them. She twisted her upper body, feeling the pinch of something in her back. The it hit Alyce. Where she was.

Submerged. In a tank. Full of water.

Panic washed over her, as she felt on her body, feeling the small metal spigots all over her body. She reached a hand over one of the many tubes connected to her body, and began to pull. She could feel her skin pulling back and she stopped. What was this? What was going on?! Her body floated around, and Alyce kicked her way to the side of the tank. She placed her hands on the cool glass, her eyes straining to see what was around her. But the water rushing around her eyes wasn't helping.

A tap on the glass caught her attention. She felt like a fucking fish. Angrily, Alyce relaxed her body falling down to where she heard the tap. She blinked her eyes, the silhouette in front of her becoming clear. It was Stryker.

"Awake, are we?"

Alyce growled behind her oxygen mask. She brought her hand up and slammed it against the glass. But her body moved slow. It was as if she was in a suspension liquid rather than water. Her hand finally hit the glass, and to her surprise armour with it. Slowly, Alyce brought her other hand up, touching the armour that lay around her hand. She had her powers back. Alyce focused her glare back to Stryker.

"Oh, yes. I know what you're thinking....but not while you're in there..." He chuckled. "What you're in is a gravity defying liquid. Feels like water doesn't it? Any sudden movements are going to be slowed down considerably..."

Alyce looked down at her arm. He was right. The rest of the spikes had just finished forming, wrapping themselves around her arm and solidifying. There had to be a way out of here. She glared at him again.

"_Where is Bella...." _Her eyes spoke.

"You must wondering where your cousin is....well....let me run something by you first..." Stryker looked at Alyce, a smirk on his face. "What if I told you, that she was ready to go? Ready to go back home, and all you had to do was just stay here?"

Alyce continued to glare. He just couldn't be speaking the truth.

"You don't trust me? Well, I am very much telling the truth right now. All you have to do is comply to what I'm saying, and she will go free."

Alyce let her hand fall off the glass. What could she do? She was trapped in a tank, in this stupid space liquid. She had tubes attached to her body. How could she do anything? Stryker had her cornered with his ultimatum. It was either comply or.......death? Alyce casted her gaze to the bottom of the tank, letting her body fall to the bottom.

"I guess, that's a yes then?"

*

_______________________________________

*

Pietro Maximoff and Dominikos Ioannis Petrakis were in the most unlikely of places, in the most unlikely attire. And this unlikely attire, was tight. How did the rest of the X-Men deal with this?

Pietro leaned his back on the chair he sat in, looking around at all the faces of the X-Men with a glare. He didn't want to be on this stupid jet, with these stupid brainwashed people. He ran a hand threw his white hair, looking over to Avalanche who was busy kissing with Kitty. _Ugh._

Why was it only him that was getting the death glares from everyone? As soon as everyone saw Avalanche they cooed up to him, smiling and even some chick with a strand white hair giving him a hug. But as soon as he walked in, everyone's face grew stern.

"_Fuck you..."_ Pietro thought to himself. He wished he would've said it too. And the entire time they where all sitting here, waiting for some chick named 'Charlie' to come, he was busy getting stabbed with John's eyes. He sighed, relaxing his body in the chair and looking right at John.

"Hey...I think I figured something out..." Pietro spoke. John just continuing to glare. Pietro shrugged his shoulders. "I think you must be gay...or s_omething_. You've been looking at me with this funny look since I stepped foot on this jet..."

John growled, getting up from his seat, but Logan pulled him back down. "And I see you looking back.....makes _me_ wonder...." Logan smirked, walking past Pietro and huffing.

"Logan, do you know when you're friend is coming?" Jean asked, stepping foot out of the cockpit.

"She should be her--"

"I am HERE!" Came an excited voice. Everyone looked up, even Avalanche and Kitty whose lips had been locked together since they first set eyes on each other. John looked on with curious eyes, as a woman with short black hair made her way on the jet. She threw herself into Logan's arms and chuckled.

"I haven't seen you in ages, _chulo."_ She spoke. Logan gave her a firm hug, greeting his old friend. The two had worked together, way before Logan had came to the Mansion looking for answers about his past. She had been the one to take him in and help him.

"So have you heard from Alyce?"

"Honey, the last time I heard from her was when she went in ta' that compound. Suicide if 'ya ask me." She pushed her hair behind her ears and surveyed the rest of the people in the jet. A lot of them were just baby faced twits. She rolled her grey eyes and smiled back at Logan.

"It's been, what....two days? I'm sure the lil' _chica_ is fine." Charlie's eyes scanned the jet once again, and her eyes stopped on one girl. She could just feel the negativity emitted from her. Charlie smiled and leaned on one of the nearby chairs.

"Hey you...Chinese Food.....ya' got a problem with me?"

Logan sighed, placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "C'mon, Kid there's not time for that."

Charlie laughed. "There's always plenty of time, _chico..."_ She looked back toward the Asian girl and smiled.

"Are you blind or something? Fuck off..." Jubilee spat.

Everything grew quiet. Logan squeezed Charlie's shoulder, knowing what this girl was capable of.

"What's your power, huh?" Charlie asked. She smiled as she watched the young mutant shift in her seat. She was nervous, she could feel it. Charlie lived for these types of things.

"I...uh....fireworks...." Jubilee stammered, looking down.

Charlie stood up suddenly, clapping her hands and fluttering them like a circus performer.

"Look out bad guys, she's got razzle-dazzle!"

Everyone on the jet tried their best to hide their laughter. But they just couldn't. Looks like Jubilee finally met her match.

Stifling back laughter, Logan pulled on Charlie's shoulder. "How did Alyce enter the compound?" Logan asked.

Charlie looked back at Logan. "She went through the front door..."

"What do you mean by that?" Jean suddenly asked, confused.

"It means...what it means......she ran up to the front entrance, did her lil' power thing and I covered her. Like old times! Right Logan? So none of you lil' things gotta worry about gettin' ya heads blown off....."

Logan sighed, nodding his head. He had missed his old team mate, but right now there were other things at hand. "Are you coming with us?" He asked her, looking hopeful.

"That's what she said!" Charlie laughed. "Sorry 'bout that, but I ain't goin' in there. Place looks like a hospital.....you know I hate 'em, Lo'."

Logan nodded his head. "So what are you going to do?"

Charlie sighed, placing her hands on her hips and thinking. "Well, if 'ya don't need me anymore, I was thinkin' me and Ray can take a flight to Honduras. I fuckin' hate the cold weather...."

And with that, she flicked her wrist in the air, and walked out of the jet. As quickly as she had come she had left. Logan watched as his friend walked off the jet, she turned around and gave him the finger, and he chuckled waving back.

"So that means we have to hurry in...." Jean spoke with urgency, already counting off the team into groups.

"THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!" Charlie yelled from outside.

________________

A/N: I love you, Charlie. :) Next chapter! Teams will be assembled as the X-Team begin to make their way into the Alkali Lake Compound. Stay tuned~


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Infinity Call Pt 1

John could deal with the bone shattering cold. He could deal with the tight uniforms. He could deal with stepping over frozen dead bodies. But what he couldn't deal with was being on the same team with that arrogant prick, Pietro. This was the guy who took his girl from him.

If it wasn't for the fact that they were going to save Alyce and Bella, he would've burned him to a crisp. Pietro and him still had unfinished business. Was it odd that it was only Pietro, Logan and him that where officially sent out? The rest of them where 'standing guard', a follow up team, which consisted of Avalanche, Kitty and Colossus would go in after then.

How they were going to get _anything_ done in between all the kissing would be an amazing feat.

"Look, why don't I save some time and just make my way to the front? I'm not fast for nothing." Pietro spoke, shielding his face from the sudden gusts of wind that picked up.

"You got a lot to learn, kid." Logan huffed, walking normally. He had learned to get used to the cold quick. He looked over at Pietro and John, he could feel the tension coming off both their shoulders. Whatever they had going on, they had to stop. Logan looked ahead into the snow, he had been following a pair of foot steps that had to be Alyce's. He could smell her scent all over the snow.

"What would be so wrong about running up ahead? That faster I can get there, the faster I can get to Bella and Alyce." Pietro glanced over to John, feeling the anger rise up in the Pyro as he mentioned Alyce's name. He knew it made John jealous, that he was faster than him. That if Pietro wanted to, he could single handedly save both girls, before John would step foot into the place.

Logan snorted. Why did he have to bring this kid with him? "There's still a chance of some of the soldiers still around, do you want to get shot? Even if you did get up to the front entrance, kid, how would ya' get in?"

Ok, this so called Wolverine had a point. Pietro stood shut, thinking on how they would get in. All of this was new to him, the working together thing. If this had been with The Brotherhood, then would've just destroyed everything, then worried about finding a way to get in. All of this was just time consuming. Sighing, Pietro grabbed onto Logan's arm and quickly grabbed onto John's. He didn't want to touch them....but to save the time of walking through the snow he was going to.

Before they could ask what he was doing, Pietro zipped down path, snowing pushing up into the air and falling back down over them. He stopped, staggering at the weight of holding two others. He steadied himself and smiled to Logan, who shook his head out of disorientation. He glanced over to John, who was busy throwing up what he last ate into the snow.

"Kid...." Logan coughed, steadying himself on the the gigantic door in front of him.

"Yea?" Pietro asked, smirking.

"Just....no....never...again." Regaining his composure, Logan took a step back and gently knocked on the metallic door. The sound echoing back assured him that the door wasn't fully fortified. He looked over to John who had finished throwing up.

"Hey, Pyro, why don't you take your anger out on this?"

John wiped his mouth, picking up some clean snow and placing it into his mouth. He swished it around and spit it out, getting rid of the vomit taste that ran around his mouth. He motioned for Pietro and Logan to move back, and pulled out his lighter. He ran his gloved hand over the flame and shot it out toward the door, the flame expanding and burying itself into the door.

Pietro sucked his teeth, leaning on a nearby protruding object. If the fight between them had continued that day in the city, then _MAYBE_ Pietro would've been worried. From the last time Pietro had seen John he noticed that John was more focused when it came to his powers. Pietro shifted back, he got up and kicked the object he had been leading on. If was when he did, that he noticed the face of a frozen solider looking up at him. He had been leaning on a dead person.....

"Hey, Silver Head? Coming?" Logan spoke, already inside the compound.

Pietro shuddered walking toward the door. "It's _Quick_Silver." He muttered.

**

Logan inhaled deeply, walking down the long tunnel that lay in front of him. Alyce had passed through here, he could smell small traces of her sent. He ran his hand along the wall, memories of his own past flashing in his mind. Logan's heart began to beat rapidly. What else could he found out here? It wasn't the first time he had been to Alkali Lake, and every time he had thought about coming back he was sure he could find out something new.

Logan shook his head. He was being selfish. His top priority right now was to save Bella and Alyce. He hoped Stryker hadn't subjected either of them to his grueling experiments.

**

Alyce yelp in pain as each tube was pulled from the metal spigots on her body. She had been laying down on a medical table, for what seemed to be for the past hour, a male scientist yanking at the tubes on her body. She closed her eyes, taking in another deep breath and letting it out as another tube was plopped off her body.

She wanted to use her powers so badly, to send a metallic blade smack dab into the scientist that was prodding her body. But Stryker had injected her with another syringe. So she had to deal with the pain, and the best that she could do was glare at the scientist that was above her. As the scientist kept pulling out the tubes, she was oddly getting used to the pain. But it was still uncomfortable. Her hair was still dripping wet with the liquid that she was submerged it. It even smelled faintly of roses. _What the fuck._

The scientist hoisted Alyce up into a sitting position, pressing a button and waiting for something to lower down behind her. Her back was rested on something cold, and her hands where strapped down. She clenched her fists as the tubes from her back began to pop off, the pain shooting up her spine and making her legs spasm in pain. She had to endure this, this was what she got in return for Bella's safety. She had to endure this.

With blurred vision, Alyce watched as two other scientists walked up to her. They began measuring different parts of her body, drawing lines on her skin with a black marker. She could feel as the marker traced up her leg, some spots being circled. The choking smell of the marker hit her nose, as one of the scientists held her face still, the other measured and began to draw the same identical lines around her face.

"One of my favourite experiments is testing the mutant body to the high dosages of a metal called Adamantium. I think you might know someone who has it already..."

Alyce didn't _care_. She hated hearing Stryker's voice. Whenever she passed out, she could still hear him in her mind.

"You don't have any regeneration abilities, so it seems that you're most likely going to die in the process. It shouldn't matter though. You're a disease, infectious waste that walks this Earth. Your mother should've killed you when you were born..."

"Fuck you!" Alyce shouted. She wasn't going to let Stryker say anything about her real mother. There was no way she would let that slide. Alyce tried to push her body off of the table, but hands held her back. She listened to Stryker's laughs.

"Oh that's right....you killed your mother on your way out, didn't you?"

"Fuck you!" Alyce repeated, feeling helpless. All she had to her defense was the ability to trash talk. One of the many perks her father had taught her. "You're a fucking _scumbag_! I swear to God, when I get out of here, I'm going to wring your neck! I'm going to _slice_ your throat and make your family _watch you die_!"

Stryker's face grew serious. He leaned in close to Alyce's ear and whispered. "My, dear. My son has been dead for years...I have no family..."

Suddenly, the red alarm went off inside the facility. Everywhere scientists scattered about. The three that where holding her strapped her down and ran off, grabbing things as they went.

"_Breach in Sector 77-A. Intruder Alert_."

Stryker lifted his head up, listening to the monotonous female voice that began to repeat the same thing over and over. He smiled. He looked back over to Alyce and smiled.

"Looks like your friends have a death wish..."

**

Logan unsheathed his claws sending them straight into the chest of a nearby soldier. He kicked him off his claws, and turned around, catching another soldier right in the face. He took a step back, bumping into John.

"How 'ya doin', Kid?" Logan asked, grabbing onto another soldier and sticking his claws right into his neck. He felt the hot blood splash onto his gloves, but that was a feeling he was already used too.

"This is pretty fun.." John smirked, answering Logan. He brought another flame into his hands, grasping onto it with his glove. He smiled, throwing the fireball out into the narrow corridor, he stretched his hand out and the flame did so as well, engulfing the soldiers who ran up.

Pietro was busy dashing around, grabbing onto a runaway soldier. His hand reached out and grabbed onto the Soldiers neck, and he zoomed down the corridor, letting his grip go and the soldier flying down from the momentum. Pietro watched as the soldier slammed into a wall, his body slumping to the floor. He zoomed back to where John and Logan where, picking another group of scared soldiers to encircle in his speed.

He could feel his boots digging into the floor as he ran around faster and faster. Ladies and Gentlemen, Science 101. He forced himself to run faster, the vortex he was creating slowly running out of oxygen. He watched as the soldiers inside began to grasp at their throats. He watched as they began to suffocate to death.

If there was one thing common when it came to The Brotherhood and the X-Men was that when the killing was justified, it was almost...fun?

He stopped running, his boots digging back into the floor as he stopped. He watched as the soldiers dropped to the ground.

Logan retraced his claws, placing a hand on John's shoulder signaling him that he could stop burning. He looked over at Pietro and gave him a thumbs up. "I'm sort of impressed kid...."

The corridors stood eerily quiet, bodies of incapacitated soldiers lying around. Logan began to sprint down the corridor, the other two following. The red alert had already been sounded, and he knew that standing there would just bring more soldiers to their location. They had to keep moving.

"_Logan....."_ Jeans voiced echoed inside his brain.

"_Kinda busy here, Jean..." _He spoke in his mind, his voice sounding out of breath even in his thoughts.

"_Just letting you know, we're sending in Colossus, Kitty and Avalanche in to handle any.....unwanted distractions."_

"_Make sure that kid doesn't bring down the whole place....should Kitty even be on that team?"_

"_Don't worry Logan. Also, Cyclops, Ice-Man and Jubilee will be coming in from another entrance..."_

"_What about the Cajun?"_

"_He insisted on coming with Storm and I. He wants me to try to find any thoughts that Bella and Alyce are transmitting.....See you soon, Logan..."_

"_Be careful, Jean...."_

"_You too...."_


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Infinity Call Pt 2

They all ran into what seemed to be an atrium. The ceiling was high, small tiny windows built on the ongoing ceiling. The air around them was heavy, thick with a musky smell. Beneath their boots, small rocks crunched. In front of them, seemed to be a sort of medical table, the surface of it still wet. Something wasn't right.

Logan stood still, motioning for the two hot headed teens to stay put. He inhaled the surrounding air into his lungs, trying to distinguish any scents. He could smell her, Alyce,...she was just in this room. His ears perked, the sound of a faint screaming catching his ear. Was that Bella? He closed his eyes, listening again.

"_Someone! Please! PLEASE!"_

It had to be her. There was no way Alyce would scream like that. "Hey, Bella is that way...." Logan pointed down the corridor to his left. All around them, different openings to different passages lay. It was a good thing they had him with them. Or else these two would've definitely gotten lost. Most likely fighting along the way.

"C'mon let's go...." Logan took a step forward, ready to sprint down the hall, when something heavy hit him on his side. Before he knew it, he was up in the air, his body slamming down on a nearby computer.

Logan got up, cracking his neck and huffing out in anger. He looked up, a bald headed man stood in front of him. His head smaller than his body, his arms massive. "Let me guess, you've come to kill me..." Logan asked.

The large man chuckled, his voice bellowing around the atrium. He slammed his fists together. "Get up, little man...my name is Blockbuster...."

Logan rolled his eyes, looking toward Pietro and John, he jerked his chin toward the direction of Bella and the two nodded. Pietro saluted him and the two ran off into the corridor. "What was it again? Logan asked, sneering. "Was it _Nutbuster_?" His claws popped out of his knuckles.

_Snikt._

"Would you lookit that!" Blockbuster laughed. "I like to kill things with a sense of humour!" He began to jog forward, and Logan got ready. He took a step back and lunged himself into the air, his claws leading the way.

**

The two of them ran in silence. Neither of them wanting to talk to each other. Why should they talk to each other? They where only here, together, because they had a singular goal in common. Save the girls. Pietro steered himself to a halt, his hand reaching out and stopping John.

"Why are you stoppi-"

"Shhh!" Pietro hushed him. He held his hand up and pointed to his ear. "_Listen up, fuckwad."_ The gesture spoke.

John didn't want to listen to him, but this place was beginning to creep him the fuck out. He stood still, listening as hard as he could. Faintly, he could make out someone sobbing. "That's Bella." John confirmed, taking a step forward to run, but was stopped by Pietro.

"How do you know? It could be a trap."

John shrugged himself out of Pietro's grip. "It doesn't matter how I know. I know that it's her." John remembered when he had came out the infirmary and caught Bella on the steps sobbing. Who knew that, that would've _ever_ come in handy.

Pietro rolled his eyes, watching as John ran off down the corridor. He never heard the girl cry. Knowing how John was with Alyce, he was pretty sure John _would_ know. He sprinted up to John, following him as he ran, looping around corridors and opening up doors. John suddenly stopped, he slowly walked in front of the a sealed off door.

Both of them could hear her loud sobs.

John slammed his fists on the door. "Bella?! Bella it's me!"

"John!?" Her voice called out, full of hope. "John, please! Get me out of here!"

John took a step back, kicking the door. "Ok, stand all the way back!" He yelled. He took out his lighter, but before lighting it up he looked over to Pietro. "I'm going to burn the door down...."

"No shit...."

John growled, lighting the flame on his lighter and throwing it up against the wall. He leaned in, the fire getting bigger, much more hotter. He looked carefully, watching as the door began to melt he lowered down the intensity of his flame. Pietro walked a bit close to the fire that roared in front of him. He wasn't so good at being patient. Using his speed, Pietro began to wave his hand on the door, rapidly cooling down the heated metal. He motioned for John to stop, and before he could look back at the door, someone had bumped into him, causing him to fall.

A pang of jealously washed over John, as he watched Pietro catch Bella and hold onto her. She sobbed loudly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It's ok, chick. I got 'ya...." Pietro cooed, wrapping his arms around Bella's waist. She looked up at him, and Pietro noticed how cute she was up close. This had to be the second time she had gotten all up in his face. And even though her face was smudged with dirty, and her hair was messy, her green eyes were still vibrant. She was...simply breathtaking.

"Alyce..." She whimpered, looking up into Pietro's eyes. She felt safe in his arms. "Alyce....I heard her....."

"Where is she?" John asked, angry that Pietro had his arms wrapped her. He watched as Pietro got up, lifting Bella into his arms. The way the two looked at each other, was kinda making him sick. He wrinkled up his nose. Of course he was glad that she was ok, if he could he would hug her. But Pietro had his hands all over her.

Bella looked over to John. She had never been so relieved to see him. Even though the two did fight....a lot. Bella knew she was going to be ok. All she needed was Alyce. "When the alarm went off....I could hear her screaming down the hall....over there...." Bella pointed.

John was ready to take off. He began to run down the corridor, and that's when Bella saw it. The small red laser pointer aimed right at his back. She called out his name, pushing herself out of Pietro's grip. She ran down the corridor, huffing, her voice not coming out as she tried to call John again. She watched as John got father down the corridor, the red light not on his back anymore....

Suddenly, Pietro appeared in front of her wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

A sharp pain entered her shoulder, but the feeling gone in the second she had felt it. She cringed, not sure what was happening. Pietro held onto her tight, his body trembling. "Hey..." He wheezed.

Bella ran her hand ups Pietro's back, a hot liquid meeting the tips of her fingers tips as she got closer to his shoulders. Her shoulder began to ache, something wet sticking to her shirt. Was it...._was it blood_?

Bella inhaled sharply, they had been shot. Pietro, had ran in front of her to block the bullet. If he didn't, would it have been worse? Tears sprung to her eyes as she hugged onto him tightly, trying to stop his trembling body.

"Hey..." He wheezed again. "Let's get you out of here.....ok?"

Bella nodded, she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, feeling her body being lifted up into the air. The pair zoomed down the corridor, Pietro clutching tightly onto Bella. He had saved her, Bella thought, even though she still got hit. He had tried. Bella let her eyes close, her body feeling at rest. A smile played on her lips.

She knew right then and there, that this guy, this Pietro, was meant to be in her life.

____

A/N: Awww. One damsel in distress down, one left to go!


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Infinity Call Pt 3

Alyce groaned as her arms where pulled behind her back, a huge machine closing down on top of them. They enclosed around her arms, not hurting at all. She was half expecting to get her arms crushed. Her legs hurt from standing, the muscles beginning to go numb. She looked up, looking into the eyes of one scientist.

"Just let me go..." Alyce mumbled, hanging her head. She was tired of all of this. Only two days of being in this shit hole, and she already wanted to die. Right now, there was only two people in this room. Alyce and the scared looking female scientist. Stryker had placed her on the machine and disappeared, to...God knows where.

Good riddance, it was better for Alyce that he wasn't here at all. Alyce looked up once again, feeling the strain on her back muscles as she did so. If she could talk this lady into letting her out, then maybe she could get out of this place. But she had been pumped with so much of that gene suppression liquid, that Alyce wasn't even sure if she could ever use her powers again.

"Look, just let me go. No one is going to know that is was you..." Alyce murmured, trying her take on persuasion. But the lady ignored her, her heels tapping around frantically.

"Don't you feel guilty? For doing all of these horrible things to innocent people?" Alyce spoke again. What was it going to take to get this lady to crack? She still ignored Alyce, as she walked around busy clicking things into a nearby computer.

"I'm sorry..." The lady spoke, catching Alyce's attention. Failure. With wide eyes, frantic, Alyce watched as the lady pressed a button, the sound of the machine behind her roaring to life. The woman quickly scurried out of the room, leaving Alyce alone. Summoning up the rest of her strength, Alyce began to push away from the machine, a strong vibration echoing up her arms. She put all her strength on one leg, pulling up the other and pushing her body forward. But there was nothing she could do, the machine was clamped down over her arms, tightly. What was going to happen to her? A thought sprung into her head. The thought of loosing her arms greater than actually dying.

She huffed out in nervousness, pulling even harder to try and escape the mechanical device. She stopped, at this rate she was liable to dislocate her own shoulders at how hard she was pulling. Slowly, Alyce felt the machine getting tighter on her arms, the feeling comparable to getting your blood pressure taken. How the feeling grew tighter, your arm hurting and you wiggling at how uncomfortable it felt. That was how this was feeling. What this machine was for, Alyce had no idea, but the pressure being placed down on her arms was getting stronger.

"Alyce?!"

Alyce jerked her head up, looking as down the corridor she saw someone running. The voice, it was so familiar. Who was it? Frantically, she looked around, her blue eyes searching. "John?!" She yelled out in question, moaning in pain as the machine grew tighter. "John!" She shouted again, anxiously pushing away from the machine once again toward the sound of his voice.

"Alyce? Where are you?!"

Relief was washing throughout her body, even though she still hooked up. "John! Please hurry!" She felt a bit stupid, feeling more like a damsel in distress waiting to be saved. If she had her powers, she would've been free of this contraption ages ago. But she was thankful, thankful that John was here. She looked up again, seeing his silhouette.

He came into the room, wide eyed, looking at the massive machine that Alyce was hooked up too. It looked like something out of a fantasy movie. Any minute, it looked like it would get up and move about, with Alyce attached to it. More animalistic than machine. He ran up to her, the whole moment feeling unrealistic.

"John...please, the machine. Stop it!"

John searched around, looking for anything that had a big 'stop' sign on it. But there was nothing. He looked back at Alyce, her face twisting in pain. He didn't know what to do. His eyes met her, helpless.

"Somewhere....over there. _Please..."_ Alyce jerked her chin toward where she heard the lady tap on the computers. In any minute she was going to be free, she was going to go home. But right now, the tightness on the machine was getting worse and worse, and Alyce could begin to feel the strain on her bones. The machine was slowly breaking her arms.

"JOHN!" Alyce cried out.

John looked at the array of different keyboard in front of him, each of them connected to something different. He could hear Alyce cry out in pain, but he didn't know what to do. This wasn't the movies where he could slam his hands on anything he saw and she would be set free. It wasn't like that at all. But who's to say that it didn't work? John took out his lighter and quickly lit it, a flame jumping into his hands. He gritted his teeth, hoping this would work, and slammed his hands down hard on the counsel. It immediately was set a blaze. He took a step back, running back to Alyce.

Nothing short of a miracle, the humming of the massive mechanical beast stopped humming. Everything stood quiet, the only sound heard was the crackling of John's fire. Slowly, he placed his hands on her waist, holding onto her as the machine hissed open, dropping her arms. She fell limp into his arms.

"Alyce....?" John whispered, not sure how to hold onto her. He lightly touched the small metal spigots around her body. What did they _do?!_ Lines of black ran up and down her body, circling around her face, looking more like tribal tattoos than lines of a failed experiment. He shook her lightly, bringing up his other hand and brushing the hair out of her face. She looked peaceful, the way her eyes were closed. Her breathing was light, the rise of her chest slow and steady. But, right now, all he wanted for her to do was open her eyes. He missed seeing her blue eyes.

"C'mon...just...open your eyes..." He whispered, hugging onto her. The nearby flame began to twist into the air, reacting to his emotions. He buried his face onto the side of her neck, readjusted his arms around her.

"Alyce...._open your goddamn eyes_..."


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Infinity Call Pt 4

Kurt poofed himself back inside the facility. He shook his clear, and stretched his arms. He had just finished taking Logan back, saving him from nearly getting his skull crushed. But of course, Logan didn't thank him.

"_I had it under control...."_ Logan had told him when they both appeared in the jet. He just rolled his eyes and poofed himself back inside to continue his rescue mission. But of course, after he had helped patch up Bella and Pietro's shoulder. The bullet had gone right threw and surprisingly it had missed the bone. When he was in the Munich Circu---_maybe now wasn't the time._

Kurt looked around, feeling anxious. This place was creepy. Just wanting to get out of there, Kurt began to leap through the corridor, his blue tail flicking behind him. Right now, all he had to do was get John and Alyce out of there. Nothing else. Logan's friend, Charlie, had come back to the jet, warning them that her boyfriend had intercepted a message. Stryker had called for an air strike. They were going to send half of the facility up in flames. Kurt looked down at his watch, casually poofing himself to get to his destination faster. If his watch served him correct, then he had about fifteen minutes before half of this place would go boom.

"_Mein Gott!_" Kurt gasped. He had to hurry.

-

*

-

John placed a hand on Alyce's face. She must be in one hell of a deep sleep. No matter how many times John was retying to reassure himself that she was only sleeping, he couldn't help the bad thoughts pushing into his head. John lifted his head, a new robotic voice booming over the loudspeakers.

"_Warning, evacuate the premises immediately....Warning....Warning..."_

"Shut up." John murmured. He wasn't going to leave until Alyce opened her eyes. Then, when he was sure that she was ok, he would get up and take her with him. His thumb moved over her cheek, wiping away at the marker that was drawn on her skin.

"You said you would come back..." John muttered, feeling stupid for talking to himself. But it was making him feel better. He was enthralled in finding sentences to say, that he didn't feel the hand on his shoulder.

He didn't even feel as he was lifted up from the floor....

_Bamf~_

...suddenly landing back down an another surface. The smell of brimstone filled his nose and his head felt woozy. But he didn't care, it must be being in this stupid hell hole of a facility. John looked back down to Alyce and nuzzled her neck. "Just wake up for me, Alyce..." John Allerdyce was _not_ going to cry No matter what, no matter if he was alone. He wasn't going to get out of character, not now.

"I'll let you play with fire..." John spoke, remembering when he first kissed Alyce. How her eyes glistened when she tried to touch the fire in his hand. He brought her closer to him, wondering if she was cold.

*

Bella pulled away from Pietro, her ears perking up. Pietro sighed, pulling Bella back down into his arms. The two of them had to rest, after all, they did get shot. Nobody said they had to be cuddled up to rest, but Pietro thought it would be best. After all, she _could_ be in shock.

"Wait...I think I hear John..." Bella sat up again, getting up from the seats that lay in the back of the yet.

"You're just hearing things...." Pietro watched as she still got up, pulling him by his good arm. This girl was growing on him. He got up, Bella leaning on him as the two made their way to see what was happening. Bella was about to call out to John, when Pietro wrapped a hand around her mouth.

"Shhhhh." He murmured in her ear, and she calmed down. Pietro watched as John huddled over Alyce, hugging onto her and talking. Whether if he knew, that he wasn't alone, Pietro was sure that John wouldn't be saying half the things he was. Everyone else watched on in silence, not wanting to say anything.

Who where they to interrupt John? Everyone knew how much he had missed her. When she had first disappeared, he hid his feelings well for the first three days. Then after that, when he wasn't munching on his pain medication, he wasn't himself. Even though he didn't speak much to anyone, ever, they still knew. Bobby couldn't remember the last time he had seen him eat. And Tuesday was Steak Day in the Mansion. John's favourite. Remy argued that John was still the same, whether Alyce was around or not. Remy's failed attempts at trying to lighten up the mood, failing. But Bobby was roommates with the guy. He knew when John wasn't his usual self.

Right now watching John hug onto Alyce, begging her to wake up, was hitting Bobby's soul. He was still John, just a different side. It was weird for Bobby at first to figure out what was going, Kurt had just bampf'd himself out of nowhere. Rogue was the first to grab onto Bobby's knee. More out of surprise than in fear. Was John being out of character? She didn't think so, it had always been in John to be a caring soul. He just hadn't found the right person to share it with. Looking at them now, Rogue knew that both of where meant to be. They had to be, if John was looking the way he was.

John began to grow a bit happy. Alyce took in a deep breath, her head moving to the side. Her hands gripped onto his arms.

"Alyce..." John grumbled, his old character returning. "Wake the fuck up."

Pietro let out a snort of laughter, receiving an elbow to the gut courtesy of Bella. He looked back to John and Alyce. She was finally awake, her big blue eyes staring at John like she had seen an angel. Pietro bit his lip, looking down. He had once looked into those blue eyes of hers. He had kissed her, she was his for awhile, but now, looking at her at John, Pietro felt stupid. He should've let her stay with them in the first place, let her stay with him. With John. He could see as the two hugged onto each other, that it was wrong of him to even _try_ to get Alyce. He had made a big mistake. Pietro sighed, resting his chin on Bella's head. He wasn't saying that he wasn't going to be friends with Alyce, or still make her laugh. Or bring her flowers, he just knew now, that she was John's.

Alyce wrapped her arms around John's neck, squeezing tight. "See, I told you I would come back."

John chuckled, placing a kiss on her lips. Still not realizing he was in the jet. "Not before I saved you. Damsel in distress?"

Alyce softly chuckled, returning the kiss. She heard a cough, and pulled away from John. Both of them looked around, their faces going red. How long had they been here? Everyone witnessing John's heart felt pleas, and listening to him be a pansy. He looked around, meeting everyone's eye.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me....." John growled.

__________________

A/N: Sounds like an _almost_ happy ending, right? Folks, it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings. And I fail to see a fat lady anywhere.....Stay tuned~


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Ground Control To Major Tom Pt 1

Alyce sat up in bed, yawning. She stretched out her arms in the air and looked around her room. It felt so good to be back at the Mansion. She looked down at her arms, she could just make out little circular scars scattered around her arms. She got up from bed, walking into the bathroom.

"Alyce! Don't flush the toilet!" Bella shouted, sticking her head out of the shower curtains.

"I will flush if I want too..." Alyce smirked, sticking out her tongue. She turned on the faucet and began to wash her face. She looked into the mirror, tracing her finger over her outline. They had been back at the Mansion for a week now, the days going slow. For the first few days, Alyce was getting the metal spigots taken out of her body. It hurt like a bitch. She was hopped up on so much medication, she couldn't even remember her name. Her powers had begun to slowly come back, and she could've never been more happy. Bella had been recovering as well, her body being dehydrated when they had all gotten back. But she seemed well enough, after the first two days. She would sit down next to Alyce everyday, and tell her about how cute Pietro was.

Alyce wiped down the mirror, and picked up her tooth brush She squeezed toothpaste on it and began to brush her teeth. Both Pietro and Avalanche had been staying at the Mansion. Their excuse? They wanted to make sure Alyce was well. Alyce knew it was bullshit. Avalanche wanted to stay because of Kitty, and well....Pietro wanted to stay because of Bella. It was fine...she didn't really care. Bella was happy, and that was fine.

"You're not going to pee?" Bella asked, sticking her head out of the shower again. Her eyes were closed, soap over her face. "Alyce? You there?"

Alyce chuckled, watching Bella make funny faces. "I'm here. And no, I'm not going too...."

"This soap taste funny..." Bella spoke, her face returning into the shower, the sound of her spitting heard. Alyce smiled , she was about to step out of the bathroom when she stopped and turned around.

"Bella?"

"Yessss?"

Alyce sighed, gathering up courage. "Do you want to do my hair later on?" Ever since Alyce had come back to the Mansion, she spent much of her time with her cousin. Bella even managed to get her in a dress, even if it was for only five minutes. She wasn't going to take Bella for granted anymore. She was going to enjoy every passing moment. Even if it meant getting her hair done.

"SURE!" Bella giggled and began to sing a song while she showered. Alyce smiled turning around and walking out of the bathroom. She opened up her closet and quickly tossed on an old long sleeved t shirt. She still felt uncomfortable showing the scars on her arms. She was about to change out of her shorts, when the door to the room bursted open a gust of wind flying about the room.

"Pietro! Goddammit..." Alyce snarled, almost falling into her closet from the sudden gust of wind. Her arm saved her from falling, and she pushed herself back up on steady feet. She blew a strand of hair out of her face and glared at the white haired mutant. He flopped himself on the bed and gave her puppy dog eyes.

"How 'ya feeling?" He asked, sitting back up. This had been the first time he had spoken to her since he saw her on the jet that day. He still couldn't really look her in the eye. He didn't know why, but he still felt guilty for doing what he did. Pietro scratched his head and looked around the room.

"Nice room...."

"Thanks..." Alyce responded. She gave Pietro a set of shifty eyes and made her way toward him. She sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's up?"

"Nothing, just checking if Bella was around. Is she?"

"She's in the shower. How are you liking your stay?" She leaned her head on his shoulder, trying to let him know that she still loved him. Loved him as a friend. She was never one to hold grudges and she wasn't going to start.

"It's pretty good here. I like it. Maybe a bit to fancy..."

"At least it's clean."

Pietro let out a soft chuckle. It felt nice to still have her close. While Alyce had stayed with him in the Brotherhood House, she had taught him a lot of things. And because of her, he was more laid back. If he still was still in his old ways, he didn't ever think he would be dating Bella. That girl was _wild. _The silence between them grew awkward.

"John and I had a an interesting conversation a few hours ago."

Alyce groaned, sitting up and running her hand over her face. "Don't tell me you two started fighting..."

"No...it was actually pretty funny. I've tried to mend the bridge, Alyce, I really have. He's just stubborn."

Alyce laughed. "That sounds like John, alright."

**

Pietro was just sitting there, enjoying his breakfast cereal. He had spooned another scoop into his mouth chewing happily, when someone sat next to him.

"How can you _eat _that shit..."

Pietro sighed, chewing the rest of what was in his mouth. He angrily plopped the spoon down and looked over to John. "It's candy for breakfast, John. Reese's Puff Cereal....let your inner kid take control for once."

John gave Pietro a stupid look. The two had been at it ever since they got back, with Pietro mocking John over what he had to Alyce on the jet. John sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So when are we going to settle what we started in the city?"

"Look...can I bring an ultimatum upon you?" Pietro asked, sipping the milk from his cereal. He didn't wait for John to answer. "If you think about it, logically, you're dating Alyce, I'm dating Bella....if we ever get married....we're going to be fucking _related_..."

John froze. He never thought about that. He looked at Pietro and hissed. "No."

"Oh, yes." Pietro gave John a devilish grin, running his tongue over his teeth to get rid of any cereal debris. He raised his eyebrows to John and got up from his seat, leaving John with his jaw open.

**

Alyce let out a bubble of laughter. "Don't do that to the poor guy." She got up from her bed and stretched.

"I couldn't help it. You know it's true. We'll be like...cousin in laws. Or.....I don't know...what would we be?"

Alyce thought about it, not really knowing herself. What did you call your cousin's husband? Alyce shrugged walking to her door. She turned around and smiled. "Friends...that's what you would call it." She answered

Pietro chuckled, watching as Alyce left the room. He leaned back on his arm, looking at the picture frames that were littered against the bedside table. He picked one up, noticing Bella in one. She and Alyce looked like they were in some sort of park. Alyce had her arm draped over Bella, and Bella had two fingers up behind Alyce's head. He chuckled, putting back the picture.

"Hey, Alyce? Have you seen my Red shirt? The one with th---What are YOU doing here?!"

Pietro turned around, getting up from the bed, his cheeks going red. "Ahh, n-n-othing...umm..." He stammered his words, trying to avoid looking at Bella. Her hands tightened around her towel, the only thing covering her body. He looked up, her hair still damp and her body still wet with water.

"Close your MOUTH!" Bella yelled. "GET OUT!" She fumed, stomping her foot on the floor, her finger aiming to the door.

Pietro took a step back, almost tripping on his own feet. He scratched his head and laughed, looking up and Bella with an apologetic look. "Look, I was in here talking to Alyce an--"

"YOU'RE A PERVERT!" Bella shrieked. Both her hands coming down to her sides, her fists clenched, the towel unraveling.

John suddenly burst into the room, upon hearing Bella's shrieks. Was she hurt? Was Pietro doing something? "Bella are you o—_GOD __**WHY**__?!" _He bumped into Pietro upon seeing the sight he had just seen.

Bella...._naked. _

He covered his eyes with his arm, pulling off his jacket.

Pietro began to laugh, watching as Bella hurried to pull up the towel that had fallen onto the floor. He was impressed by what he saw......

"Take it, please!" John wheezed, throwing his jacket toward Bella. She caught it, her face beat red. She clutched onto John's leather jacket, squeezing it tight against her body. John grabbed Pietro by his shirt, trying to push him out of the room without taking his arm away from his face. He hadn't even seen Alyce naked yet. John was now fully convinced that he had bad luck.

The door opened once more, Alyce stepping in with a bag of chips in her hand. Everyone grew quiet. Both Pietro and John knew how protective she was of her cousin. And right now, it just looked like botched rape attempt. Alyce leaned on the door way, placing a chip in her mouth and chewing slowly.

"So....."

Everyone cringed, including Bella. Alyce was going to freak out. She could already tell. She hugged onto John's jacket tighter. The two boys were so going to get it. Alyce placed another chip in her mouth, a small smile playing on her lips.

"You guys making a porn or _what_?"


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Ground Control To Major Tom Pt 2

Bella had been dismissed from Professor Charles Xavier's office. A smile beamed on her face as she walked through the halls. She punched at the air in victory, receiving a few odd stares from passing students. She twirled around as she walked, stopping to even preform a little dance. She had just gotten the best news of her life. She didn't have to go back to her shitty little house in New York. She didn't have to be around her annoying parents anymore, or deal with waking up and getting ready for school. Because, Bella would be staying _in _her school.

"That's right....Bella Garland is here to stay!" Who she was speaking too, no one had an idea. Some students stopped to stare, others just going about their own business. She would wake up, and be with Alyce every second of the day. No more worrying about dealing with fancy school pep rallies, or stupid jocks. No more worrying about the popular kids....even though, she had been a popular kid. But that wasn't the point. Bella was going to be staying at the Mansion. Learning with Mutants. Learning with The X-Men.

"How fucking cool is that!" Bella shouted into the air.

"Cool as this?" A voice suddenly spoke. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up into the air, spinning her around. Giggles escaped her mouth as she held onto Pietro's arms.

"L-l-let me GO!" Bella laughed, her feet kicking in the air. She gently slapped onto Pietro's arm, and he finally set her down. He spun her around and latched onto her.

"You're so pretty today...." He cooed in her ear, sending the blood rushing to her cheeks. She pulled away from his hug, hitting him gently on the shoulder. From what she had heard, he was going around already saying that she was his girl. But Bella, _never remembered_ agreeing to something like that. Sure, he had saved her....

Ok...truth be told. She was just playing hard to get.

Pietro pulled her in, attempting to give her a kiss, but she pulled away. "What do you think you're doing, huh?" She placed her hands on her hips.

Confused, Pietro raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to give you a kiss...." He extended his arms out, ready to grab her by her waist and pull her into a hot steamy smooch. Bella rolled her eyes and slapped his hands gently, causing him to open up his eyes.

"I am _not_ your girlfriend, Pietro Maximoff."

He shuddered upon hearing her use his whole name. She sounded like Wanda. Pietro shook his head, looking at Bella with a stern look. "What do you mean? I'm _your_ boyfriend."

Bella sighed, pushing her honey blond locks out of her face and tying it into a ponytail. She took a step forward, extending a finger out and pointing at his chest.

"I'm not one of those bimbo's you used to go out with before. You're going to have to work a little bit harder than what you are now." She turned on her heel, walking down the hall. It was true! Just because they had hugged a bit, flirted a bit, touched a bit, doesn't mean that she was his.

What the fuck was up with girls' these days?! Pietro growled watching as Bella walked down the hall way. He wasn't going to chase after her, that wasn't his job. The girls were supposed to chase after _him_. Heck, if he wanted too all he had to do was pick out a random girl right now, and they would want to be with him. That's how easy it was. Pietro scowled, watching as Bella got farther and farther down the hall. Any minute now, she was going to turn around and come running to him....any minute....

Bella stopped. She turned to the left and began to walk down the other hallway, completely disappearing from his view. He growled, running his hand over his face. He zoomed up toward her, stopping right in front of her. He grabbed at her shoulders and pulled her in, placing a kiss on her lips. He wanted to laugh, as she struggled to get out of his grip. Her muffled squeals sounded cute too.

Finally he let go, a smirk playing on his face. He had won. She was his now. It was just too easy.

"_No_...." Bella smirked back. She bumped into his shoulder and kept on walking. Dumbfounded, Pietro turned around watching as Bella continued to walk. She hopped up a flight of a stairs, a big toothy grin plastered on her face.

"Ok, then...I know the game you want to play..." Pietro chuckled to himself, putting his hands on his hips and kicking the air with his left foot. He never had to chase after a girl so much like he did with Bella. It was a new feeling to him, and he liked it.

*

*

Pietro had two dozen pink roses in his arms. This would be the second time he _ever_ bought flowers for a girl. The first being Alyce. He sighed, walking around the Mansion trying to find where this little blond haired pixie was. The roses were rubbing against his nose, and he could feel a sneezing fit coming on soon. If he as Bella, where would he be?

"She's in the Rec room, lover boy..."

Pietro looked to his side, Alyce smiling and waving. She gave him a thumbs up and continued walking to where she was going. Pietro sneezed his thanks, and zoomed down the mansion corridors, pink rose petals flying up into the air. He was at the Rec Room, pink petals in his hair, and his sinuses ready to explode. Threw watery eyes, he looked around the Rec room, trying to find Bella. He spotted her in the corner, watching Bobby and Rogue play Foozball.

Sniffling, he walked up to her, throwing the roses into her arms. As soon as he did so, he tilted his head to the side, sneezing. "Bella..._ah---ahh----_Bella...._ackk...ahhh..._"

Bella smiled, tilting her head to the side. "Let it out, Pietro."

He placed his hand on his hip, the other hand hand massaging his nose. The sneeze had gotten stuck in his nose, but the tingling feeling was still there, his face locked in that stupid '_I'm going to sneeze_' look. Suddenly, Bella pushed the flowers on his face, the sneeze coming out in a loud boom. He pushed the flowers away from his face.

"Those are for you." He wrinkled up his nose and sniffled.

"I love them....but.....not gunna happen..." Bella chuckled, looking at the pink petals stuck in Pietro's hair. She picked a rose that was still in tact, and placed it in her hair before pushing the bouquet back into his hands. She walked away again, snickering at the row of sneezes she heard behind her.

*

*

This was it. He wasn't going to try anymore if this didn't work. It was the perfect full proof plan. After getting all the petals out of his hair, and his sinuses had cleared up, he began to look for Bella again. But after an hour of searching, he just couldn't find her, and decided to sit on a near by staircase instead. He rest his chin in his hands, looking at the different people walking by. Where was she this time? He had checked the Rec room, but she wasn't there.

This was stupid. Here was a mutant chasing after a human. And so far she was winning. She couldn't be in her room, and she couldn't be outside. Alyce had forbade her on leaving school grounds unless she was with someone. And right now, it was late. There was no way she was outside. So then...._where_ was she?

"Have you checked library?"

Pietro looked up, watching as Alyce descended down the steps. How was she doing this? It was kind of creepy. He looked on as Alyce hopped off the last step and formed an O.K sign with her hand. She gave him a smile and walked off, once again, disappearing. Pietro got up, suspiciously looking around. Was Alyce following him? Well, even if she was, she hadn't been wrong the first time. He sighed, dashing himself down the hall once again and making his way toward the library.

*

*

He stepped in, looking around the large room. There was no way he was going to find her in here. And why was he tippy toeing? This wasn't a Scooby Doo cartoon. Looking around, to see if anyone saw him, he straightened himself up, letting out a cough. He began to look down each aisle, someone different in each section. At this rate, he was going to be here all night. He stopped by the comic book aisle, leaning on the shelf and looking in.

"You know, she likes Fairy Tales..." Alyce spoke, not looking up from a comic that she was reading.

Pietro narrowed his eyes. "How do you keep doing that?" He asked, jutting out his bottom lip in question.

"Doing what?" She asked, turning the page of her comic and lifting her left leg up on her right.

"Being here you know, popping up like a--"

"_Shhh_..." Alyce raised up her hand, bringing up the comic to her face. "Invincible is fighting Omni-Man."

Rolling his eyes, Pietro scowled, sticking his tongue out at Alyce before he walked down the aisles to find the fairy tale section. He peered in, finding Bella, nose deep in a massive book. He walked up to her, grabbing the book out of her hands and pushing it back into the shelf.

"Hey!--"

Quickly, he covered her mouth, bringing her in close.

"You listen to me, Bella. You _better_ be ready in 20 minutes, because I'm going to be down in the garage, in my car. And I'm going to take you out to dinner. That's it."

He took his hand off her mouth and placed a quick tap kiss on her lips, before dashing out of the library, sending her hair flying around her face. What just happened? Bella fixed her hair, smiling to herself, biting on her lower lip.

"Going?" Alyce asked, popping her head around the bookcase and looking at her cousin.

Bella blushed, looking down at her feet. "Yea....." She gave Alyce a toothy grin.

Alyce smiled back, her head disappearing back into the other aisle. Bella giggled, excited. She began to walk out of the library, occasionally skipping. She was about to leave the library when she heard Alyce's voice, all the way in the back of library.

"Don't forget to use a condom!"

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A/N: :( Yea Bella, don't forget one. lol.


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Smile Like You Mean It

It was the classic switch-a-roo. The classic bunny-in-the-haystack.

For the record, Bella had come up with that ridiculous name. Also, if John was going to die after this happened, then it was Bella's fault. Everything. It was all her idea. She had convinced him to do it, and he didn't know why he had complied. Right now, as he lay next to Alyce as she slept, he could feel himself dying a little. Alyce was going to freak.

Or so Bella had claimed.

After Bella had come back from her night out with Pietro, she had rushed up to tell Alyce, only to find out that she had already fallen asleep. Angry, Bella stormed her way to John's room, unraveling her plot. It sounded like a good plan at first.

"_Just...lay down next to her for the night. Trust me, she won't notice anything. Then when she wakes up...."_

"_Run for my life?"_

"_Exactly."_

Now it wasn't sounding like a good plan at all. In fact it sounded utterly ridiculous. It wasn't even a prank. It was already morning time, the sun shining through the curtains and the birds chirping. Scared, John looked to his right, Alyce huddled under the covers, her breathing light. He smiled to himself, looking at her as she slept. She looked pretty cute. But when she woke up, she wasn't going to look so cute. John rested his hands behind his head, taking in a deep breath. He wasn't complaining, right now he was the happiest man on earth. Laying down next to the most beautiful girl.

"Bella.....stop...._stop stealing my marshmallows..._" Alyce moaned in her sleep, lifting her leg up and slinging it over John. John huffed, her leg almost hitting him...._somewhere._ Did Bella have to deal with this when the two slept together? A bit scared, John looked down at Alyce's bare leg, then back up to her face to see if she was _really _sleeping. Marshmallows? The hell?

A hand smacked into his face, as Alyce stretched her arms out. She let out a big groan, scratching her tummy, her shirt lifting up. She then turned around, her leg still over John, and cuddled next to him like a little girl. Her arm fell across his stomach, her head resting on his chest. She nuzzled her nose on his neck, and scooted her self closer.

Did Alyce and Bella, seriously sleep like this?

Awkwardly, John placed his arm around her shoulder, still feeling stupid that Bella had talked him into this. If Alyce woke up and her reaction was fine, then maybe he could keep doing this? Who knew? John took in a breath, feeling smug. He was about to close his eyes, when he heard the door open. Wide eyed he looked as Bella sneaked in, smirking at him. He shook his head softly.

"_No..." _John mouthed to her.

"_Yes..."_ Bella sneered, mouthing back. In her right hand, was a big pot. The other hand, a big spoon. She sneaked close to the bed, giggling as John glared at her, mouthing his disagreement. She brung the spoon up in the air, and......._slammed_ it down on the pot, doing it again in rapid succession.

Alyce sprung up out her bed, her eyes wide and her hair messy. She stumbled her way out of the bed, but her legs caught caught on something.....rather _someone. _

Out of panic, and the sheets flailing around his face, John grabbed onto Alyce's wrists, holding her still. She stumbled back, her legs falling on each side of John. She looked down, quickly pulling the sheets off of the person under her.

"Look, it was Bella....I swear to _GOD_."

Alyce's face blushed red as she realized who she sitting on top off. She blinked once, twice, three times, looking down at John's devilish face. At least she wasn't angry? John pulled down on her wrists, her body jerking forward and her chest calling right on John's face.

He wasn't planning that.......

No complaints though..................

Alyce shot up from where she sat, her face red, but this time from anger. "BELLA GARLAND!" She fumed, jumping out of bed and running after her cousin who had abandoned her pot and spoon and began to run down the hallway.

John smirked, still laying down. He rested his arms behind his head and took in a deep breath. Why was Alyce blaming Bella anyway? It wasn't Bella who pulled onto her, getting a face full of cleavage.

For the record, let it show that John was only intending on a kiss. For the record, let it show that it was Bella who woke up Alyce, causing her to claw her way on top of John. For the record, let it show that Alyce was now at the door way of her room, glaring at John.

For the record, let it show that John was now up, bolting to the bathroom, locking himself in like a pansy.

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A/N: Pansy! ;)


	66. Chapter 66

Peace of Mind

*

Alyce leaned back on her arms. She looked up at the sky and smiled to herself. Next to her lay John, who was sleeping on the blanket that the two had splayed out. The air was cool, but the sun still shone bright. The grass was still green, despite the coming of winter. The trees still swaying, their leaves reaching out, birds chirping and hopping around. Alyce lifted her right leg over her left, stretching out. She cocked her head to the side, her eyes falling below at scene below.

There they where, the X-Team, playing football. It was a funny sight to see, especially when Kitty got the ball and just phased through everyone. Bella never got more than two feet, before someone would pick her up and toss her to the side. Gently of course. Because they all knew who they had to deal with if they did something to her. Alyce chuckled to herself, readjusting her weight on her arms, and watching as Bella threw the ball at Piotr. The ball bounced off his head and he stretched himself out on the floor, obviously joking around. Bella rushed over to him, looking very worried. But she was soon the one on the floor, as out of no where, Pietro tackled her to the ground.

Alyce looked down, back to John who was still sleeping on the blanket. He had gotten no sleep last night, due to the fact that Bella had convinced him to sleep next to Alyce. As soon as they had went outside, he had plopped down on the grass and begun to snore. Alyce had to roll him on the blanket. And it wasn't easy. The wind blew, caressing Alyce's face and lifting her hair up. She had remembered when she first came here, she hated sitting outside. She hated being anywhere else but in the library huddled up to herself. And now look at her. Her father would be proud. But he would still make fun of her. Alyce knew that for a fact. He had visited this afternoon, with Lilia.

"_Going out with the fire guy, huh, huh?" James nudged his daughter with his elbow. His face suddenly grew stern and he looked at this daughter. _

"_Let me tell you something, though. Alyce you're only 18. God so help me, if next time I come, and you're a baby machine...you hear me?!"_

Alyce chuckled to herself again. Her father and step mother where something else. None of them had mentioned the events of what happened at Alkali Lake, and Alyce hoped they never would. But a part of her knew, that they knew what had happened. Alyce could still tell that her parents where proud her. Lilia had even warmed up to John, calling him her future son-in-law. It caused Alyce and her Father to shudder, sticking out their tongues. Where Stryker was, however, Alyce had no idea. And she didn't want to know. If he so happened to show up again.....he knew he had more than one thing coming at him.

What would've happened if Alyce never joined with the team? If after two weeks, she had decided to leave? Would she still be in the library, her nose plastered against a book? Or would she be calling her father, telling him about Jubilee's latest evil prank? Being on this team, was...something else. Everything that had happened to her thus far, burnt into her memories forever. Did Bobby still secretly hate her? Alyce didn't know, but since she had gotten back he would look at her, a sense of respect in his eyes. Maybe, she would make it a point to really sit down with him and talk to him. If he could chill her drinks, then even more reason too. Not that she couldn't make a cold drink anyway.

Alyce lifted up her hand, flexing her fingers and closing her hand into a fist. She closed her eyes, thinking of something to make, and opened her her hand, a small flower sitting in her palm. With her other hand, she held it between her pointer finger and her thumb, holding it up into the sky. She squinted her eyes and held it up over the sun.

"_Mon ami..._What are you doing?"

Alyce dropped her hand, smiling as Remy plopped himself down next to her. She held her hand out and placed the small flower inside Remy's hand. He looked at it, tilting his head to the side in question.

"Why are you giving Remy this?" He pondered, holding the tiny flower in his hands.

"No idea...." Alyce shrugged. "Just felt like giving it to you...."

Remy smiled, fidgeting with the pink flower. He placed it behind his ear, the small petals colourful against his mess of dark brown hair. "Remy likes it...."

"That's good....so I hear you're no longer with Jubilee? Is it final now?"

Remy sighed, huffing out into the air. "Between Remy and Alyce, Remy is _finally _done. Remy has another _petite_ in mind. Can Alyce guess who?"

Alyce chuckled, already knowing who it was. "I think I know who you're aiming for....didn't know you liked those southern girls."

Remy let out a chuckle, placing a finger over his mouth. "Don't tell." Alyce nodded her head, agreeing.

"How's you and _Le Feu?"_

"Fine. Don't worry, Remy, I'll come find you if he ever double crosses me." She winked at Remy and he winked at her back. The two bursted out into laughter.

"You know...you _never_ said sorry for punching me..." Alyce trailed off, rubbing the side of her jaw for dramatic effect. Remy huffed, pushing on her shoulder.

"Remy knows you can take a punch....."

That was Remy's way of saying sorry. And it was fine by Alyce. He was still adorable, the way he looked at her with those red on black eyes of his. Knowing Remy, was like having a giant weight being lifted off your shoulders whenever you ran into him. He always stopped to chat, was always friendly.

He always offered his advice, regardless of any situation. And whenever he talked, you always learned a new French word. Alyce's French speaking skills had gotten quite high, because of him. In any situation you were in, all you had to do was find Remy, and he would make you forget anything you just had your mind on. That's just how his character was.

Remy got up, stretching his legs. "Remy thinks he is going to go play football....."

"Going to make any slick moves?"

He walked down the hill in front of him, looking back and giving Alyce a smile. That was a yes. Alyce watched as he made his way down the hill, almost tripping on his own feet. She laughed, watching as he purposely bumped himself into Rogue, who caught onto him, the two falling on top of each other.

That Remy. He was, indeed, something else.

Alyce leaned her head on her shoulder, looking at John out of the corner of her eye. How long was he planning on sleeping? Shrugging it off, Alyce looked back up into the sky, watching as a flock of bird flew past the mansion.

Her name was Alyce Red and she was a mutant. The birds chirping, the grass green, the air crisp and fresh. The sun, warm and welcoming. The sky, righteous and blue in every direction.

This was her story.

And today was a beautiful day.

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NEXT UP! ~ "_Through the Frosted-Glass, and What Alyce Found There._" The upcoming sequel to, "_Alyce in Mutant Land_."

Stay tuned folks! A fresh new story is about to happen. Starting _tomorrow._ Because it doesn't end here. _Why would it end here_?


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